A Prognostics Method Based on Back Propagation Neural Network for Corroded Pipelines

A method that employs the back propagation (BP) neural network is used to predict the growth of corrosion defect in pipelines. This method considers more diversified parameters that affect the pipeline’s corrosion rate, including pipe parameters, service life, corrosion type, corrosion location, corrosion direction, and corrosion amount in a three-dimensional direction. The initial corrosion time is also considered, and, on this basis, the uncertainties of the initial corrosion time and the corrosion size are added to the BP neural network model. In this paper, three kinds of pipeline corrosion growth models are constructed: the traditional corrosion model, the corrosion model considering the uncertainties of initial corrosion time and corrosion depth, and corrosion model also considering the uncertainties of corrosion size (length, width, depth). The rationality and effectiveness of the proposed prediction models are verified by three case studies: the uniform model, the exponential model, and the gamma process model. The proposed models can be widely used in the prediction and management of pipeline corrosion.