Author name: Nonlinear Engineering

Nonlinear Engineering
Flow Assurance & Operations, Maintenance, Planning & Cost, Pipeline Integrity & Assessment, Pipeline pigging, Risk, Inspection & Strategy

Insights & Engineering Intelligence – Explore real-world challenges, data-driven solutions, and expert insights across pipeline engineering, flow assurance, and asset integrity.

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Welcome to our engineering insights hub — where technical know-how meets practical application. Whether you’re a pipeline engineer, flow assurance specialist, or integrity manager, this blog offers concise, actionable articles designed to help you optimize operations, reduce risk, and enhance reliability. 🚀 Stay ahead with posts covering: 🔧 Join the conversationHave a challenge in the […]

Flow Assurance & Operations

📝How Terrain Influences Liquid Accumulation in Pipelines

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When designing and operating long-distance pipelines, terrain elevation is one of the most overlooked yet critical factors in liquid accumulation and flow assurance. In undulating landscapes, valleys, hills, and dips create gravity-induced traps where liquids such as water, condensate, or oil can settle—leading to slugging, corrosion, and pressure imbalances. In this post, we’ll explain how

Flow Assurance & Operations, Pipeline Integrity & Assessment

📝How to Choose the Right Wall Thickness for Your Pipeline

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Pipeline wall thickness is one of the most critical decisions in pipeline design. It directly affects the pipe’s ability to withstand internal pressure, environmental loads, and long-term corrosion. Selecting the wrong wall thickness can lead to overdesign (and excess cost) or, worse, underdesign — increasing the risk of failure. In this post, we’ll explain the

Pipeline Integrity & Assessment, Risk, Inspection & Strategy

🧠 How to Assess the Integrity of an Unpiggable Subsea Pipeline

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🔍 What Is an Unpiggable Pipeline? An unpiggable pipeline is one that cannot accommodate traditional pigs due to design or access constraints. This is common in: ⚠️ Key Risk: Without inline inspection, you may be blind to corrosion, deposits, or damage building up inside. 🛠️ How Can You Assess Them Without Pigging? ✅ 1. External

Flow Assurance & Operations, Risk, Inspection & Strategy

📝Understanding Slugging in Multiphase Pipelines: Causes, Risks & Solutions

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Slugging is a common and often disruptive phenomenon in multiphase pipeline systems, where gas and liquid phases do not flow uniformly. Instead, they form alternating slugs of liquid and gas that can surge unpredictably through the line — causing pressure fluctuations, flow instability, and equipment stress. In this post, we break down what causes slugging,

Pipeline Integrity & Assessment, Risk, Inspection & Strategy

🔍 What Is MAOP and How Do You Calculate It Correctly?

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🚧 What Is MAOP? Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) is the highest pressure at which a pipeline can safely operate under regulated conditions. Determining the MAOP is critical to ensure safe operation, avoid failure, and comply with design codes such as ASME B31.8 or ASME B31.4. Improper MAOP settings can lead to pipeline ruptures, fines,

Pipeline pigging

📝How to Select the Right Pipeline Pigging Strategy for Your Operation

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Pipeline pigging is a critical operation in maintaining the integrity and efficiency of oil and gas pipelines. Yet many engineers still rely on outdated or generalized strategies without considering pipeline-specific characteristics. In this post, we’ll explore how to select the most effective pigging strategy based on key factors like flow conditions, debris levels, pig types,

Pipeline Integrity & Assessment

📝The Role of Design Codes in MAOP Calculations – B31.4 vs B31.8 vs ISO 13623

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The Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) is a fundamental parameter in pipeline design and integrity assessment. It determines the highest pressure a pipeline can safely operate under normal conditions, and its calculation is governed by design codes tailored to the type of fluid transported and regional regulations. In this article, we’ll compare three widely used

Risk, Inspection & Strategy

📝Optimizing Inspection Intervals Using Risk-Based Tools

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In pipeline integrity management, inspections are essential — but when and how often you perform them can make or break your operation’s safety and cost-efficiency. Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) tools offer a smarter, data-driven approach to schedule inspections, focusing resources where they are needed most while avoiding unnecessary downtime. This blog post explores how to determine

Flow Assurance & Operations, Pipeline Integrity & Assessment

📝Why Flowline Insulation Design Is Critical in Offshore Pipelines

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Flowline insulation plays a vital role in offshore pipeline systems, particularly in deepwater operations where temperature and pressure differentials are extreme. The right insulation strategy ensures flow assurance, prevents hydrate and wax formation, and reduces the need for chemical injection or intervention. In this article, we explore why flowline insulation is essential, how it’s designed,

Maintenance, Planning & Cost

📝Understanding Pipeline Downtime Costs and How to Minimize Them

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Pipeline downtime — whether due to planned maintenance, inspection, or unexpected failure — can have significant financial consequences. For oil, gas, and multiphase transport systems, every hour offline represents lost revenue, additional resource costs, and potential penalties or environmental risks. In this article, we explore what makes downtime so costly and what engineers and asset

Flow Assurance & Operations, Pipeline Integrity & Assessment

Top 5 Causes of Flow Assurance Failures – and How to Prevent Them

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Flow assurance is a critical discipline in pipeline engineering, especially for offshore and long-distance pipelines carrying complex fluid mixtures. A single oversight can lead to severe downtime, safety hazards, and millions in operational losses. Below are the five most common causes of flow assurance failures—and how to prevent them using practical engineering tools. 1. Hydrate

Flow Assurance & Operations

📝Emulsions and Slugging: Complicating Separation

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In oil and gas production, the path from reservoir to market is far from smooth. Two major flow assurance challenges — emulsions and slugging — frequently complicate fluid handling and downstream separation. Left unmanaged, they can cause processing inefficiencies, equipment damage, and unplanned shutdowns. This post explores how emulsions and slug flow occur, why they’re

Maintenance, Planning & Cost, Pipeline Integrity & Assessment

Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI): The Hidden Threat to Pipeline Integrity

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Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is one of the most deceptive and damaging forms of corrosion affecting industrial pipelines and process systems. Unlike external corrosion which is typically visible, CUI occurs beneath thermal insulation, making it difficult to detect until significant degradation has occurred. 🔍 What Causes CUI? CUI typically arises when moisture penetrates the insulation

Pipeline Integrity & Assessment, Risk, Inspection & Strategy

Pipeline Inspection Intervals: Balancing Safety, Cost, and Compliance

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Pipeline Inspection Intervals: Balancing Safety, Cost, and Compliance Pipeline inspections are vital to ensuring the integrity, safety, and reliability of oil, gas, and utility networks. But how often should pipelines be inspected? The right inspection interval is one that balances safety, regulatory compliance, and cost-effectiveness — without over-inspecting or leaving vulnerabilities unchecked. 📊 Why Inspection

Pipeline Integrity & Assessment

Common Mistakes in Pipeline MAOP Calculations and How to Avoid Them

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Calculating the Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) of a pipeline is one of the most critical tasks in ensuring pipeline safety and regulatory compliance. Yet, errors in this calculation can lead to unsafe operating conditions, regulatory penalties, or excessive conservatism that reduces operational efficiency. In this post, we’ll cover the most common pitfalls in MAOP

Pipeline Integrity & Assessment

How Pipeline Material Strength Affects MAOP Calculations

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Material strength is one of the most important factors in calculating the Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) of a pipeline. Yet, it’s often underestimated how variations in material properties can drastically change the outcome of your MAOP assessments — and potentially, the safe operation of your pipeline. Let’s explore why accurate material strength data matters,

Pipeline Integrity & Assessment

Why Pipeline Wall Thickness Matters More Than You Think

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When designing a pipeline, wall thickness often seems like a simple spec from a design manual. But in reality, it’s one of the most critical factors affecting everything from safety and lifespan to economic feasibility and regulatory approval. 📐 Engineering Fundamentals Wall thickness is determined using well-established design codes such as ASME B31.4, ASME B31.8,

Pipeline Integrity & Assessment

Hidden Risks in MAOP Calculations: The Impact of Outdated Assumptions

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Understanding the Evolving Landscape of MAOP AssumptionsMaximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) is one of the most critical values in pipeline engineering. Yet, while it forms the backbone of pipeline safety, many pipelines still rely on legacy assumptions that may no longer align with today’s operational realities or code requirements. Where Are These Assumptions Coming From?Decades-old

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