Dead legs are sections of a pipeline system with little or no flow — typically occurring at branch connections, bypasses, closed valves, or abandoned tie-ins.

Dead legs are sections of a pipeline system with little or no flow — typically occurring at branch connections, bypasses, closed valves, or abandoned tie-ins. These stagnant zones create elevated risks for pipeline integrity, including accelerated internal corrosion, microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC), debris accumulation, and bacterial growth.

Dead legs are a major concern in oil & gas pipelines, chemical process piping, and water distribution systems. They complicate inline inspection because smart pigs may not traverse branch lines, making these sections effectively unpiggable.

Managing dead leg integrity requires a combination of flow management (purging, flushing), strategic piping design, and regular external inspection. EMPIT's CMI technology enables non-invasive assessment of dead leg sections from the surface, detecting corrosion and wall loss without requiring internal access or flow conditions — an essential capability for comprehensive pipeline integrity management.