PR405-213601-R04 Validation of Digital Twins for Monitoring, Optimization, and Compliance of CP Systems

The digital twin used in this research is a mechanistic (or deterministic) computer model that represents the cathodic protection behavior of a pipeline network. The model is calibrated based on field data such that it mimics the real-world behavior of the pipeline. The objective of this research is to validate the accuracy of the digital twin model on three industry cases.

First, the sensitivity of the independent variables (soil, coating and cathodic protection properties) that are the inputs of the digital twin was investigated during a literature study, a lab and field-based modeling on a theoretical pipeline network. A statistical analysis with the multi-variate adaptive regression spline method was performed to identify the most influencing independent variables on the cathodic protection modeling.

Secondly, the accuracy of the digital twin model was validated on three real-world pipeline cases with a different degree of complexity. The digital twin models were calibrated based on the available data without any additional field testing. In two out of three cases an accuracy of approximately 90% was obtained between the simulated and measured pipe-to-soil ON and OFF potentials.

Digital twin models with sufficient accuracy are used to make assessments on the cathodic protection effectiveness and risk of DC stray current interference. It supports systemic improvements to CP monitoring with reduced dependence on field collected operational data – which is about preventing corrosion. A sound digital twin model is used for endorsing integrity programs and ultimately for compliance reporting to the regulator.

Related webinar.