The Alyeska Pipeline, otherwise known as the trans-Alaska pipeline, the one that runs from Alaska’s North Slope to Valdez, Alaska, has something fascinating happening.

There will be four robots crawling through parts of the pipeline this summer, inspecting those parts for corrosion.

This kind of inspection work is usually done by “pigs”.  Pigs are basically a plug which has sensors attached to it that is pushed through the pipeline.

These are not exactly pigs.  They will move under their own power, and be able to back up and go over parts of the pipe if needed.  They are specifically designed to go places that a pig can’t go.  That’s exactly what they will be doing on the Alyesaka Pipeline.

It’s important to inspect pipelines because pipelines corrode over time.  There are anti-corrosion devices attached to the pipelines, but they slow down corrosion, they don’t stop it.  The parts of the Alyeska Pipeline that are being inspected haven’t been inspected since it was built — forty years ago!  We’ll be keeping an eye on the results.

This kind of technology could be used on the pipelines that are being built here in West Virginia.  Hopefully they won’t have to wait forty years between inspections.