In natural gas transmission systems, stress on the pipe becomes a critical issue for pipelines in earthquake zones and areas of soil movement. For distribution systems, bending stress - caused by soil settling, freeze-thaw cycles, traffic vibration, and soil disturbances - is a major cause of cast iron and steel pipe failures and can also rapidly increase corrosion in steel mains. As described in a recent report, Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is investigating a method for measuring stresses on buried metal pipe through the development of a stress-measurement sensor that could be mounted on a robot, manually pushed inside the pipe, or used on the outside of the pipe.
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