A Probabilistic Method for Estimating Rates of Pipeline Leaks and Ruptures due to Arc Faulting in Shared Utility Rights-of-Way

We develop a site-specific probabilistic risk model to estimate rates of subsoil arcing and associated rates of damage to buried pipelines in proximity to overhead conductors in shared utility rights-of-way. These arcs may be initiated by lightning strikes to or faults on the overhead conductor: a lightning strike to an overhead conductor can cause flashover of the line insulator and create an ionized path into the soil to the nearest buried ground. If normal current from the overhead conductor follows that ionized path, it may terminate on the buried pipeline as an arc.