In-Situ Measurement of Pipeline Mechanical Properties Using SSM® — Validation of Data for Increased Confidence & Accuracy

This is a six-laboratory interlaboratory round robin study that included PRCI and provides the formal precision statement for ABI®/SSM®. Six independent laboratories tested identical pipeline steel specimens using the SSM® system, and the results were analyzed for reproducibility and repeatability.

The interlaboratory study is the gold standard for test method validation in the ASTM framework. By demonstrating that six independent labs can obtain consistent ABI® results on the same materials, the study provides the statistical evidence — analogous to an ASTM standard's precision and bias section — that ABI® measurements are not operator-dependent or laboratory-dependent.

The results form the statistical foundation for ASTM E636-14 conformance claims and were part of the technical basis for PHMSA's 49 CFR §192.607 rule. This is the most important single validation document for pipeline industry adoption of ABI®, because it addresses the pipeline industry's fundamental question: "Can we trust that different operators will get the same ABI® results on the same pipe?"