Anew definitive book that assesses over 300 projects worldwide has just been published by a leading authority on the pipe industry who provided his expertise to the Arabian Gulf over a number of years.

Advances in Underground Pipeline Design, Construction and Management by the US-based Dr Jey K Jeyapalan is intended to be single-source guide to the pipeline industry, in all its diversity and complexity.
The 400-page book is a thorough compilation of the projects, lectures and writings of Dr Jeyapalan, who has for over three decades been one of the world’s premier experts in the design, construction and management of underground pipeline projects as a civil engineer, lecturer and author.
The book was written over a 23-year period, during which Dr Jeyapalan’s group performed work, advised and lectured more than 5,000 owners, utilities, regulators, pipe manufacturers, trade associations, engineers and contractors on every continent.
Dr Jeyapalan had previously spend a number of years in the Gulf countries, working on numerous water transmission pipelines and desalination plant sea-water intakes and in-plant piping in the region for Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity, Saudi Electric Company, Saudi Aramco and other electric, oil, gas, and chemical companies as well as Bellelli, Snamprogetti, and similar contractors, engineering firms, and public agencies.
Speaking to Gulf Construction about his Gulf experience and the new publication, Dr Jeyapalan says: “The pipe materials I worked with were fibreglass, plastics, steel, and concrete. I also offered seminars both at hotels in the Gulf and in-house at SWCC, training hundreds of engineers, contractors, pipe manufacturers, owners, utilities among others. I found all of them to be so eager to acquire new knowledge in order to perform better.
“This book is the only one of its type in the world that outlines numerous practical lessons learned over 35 years from more than 300 major projects worldwide including many from the Gulf.
“Engineers, contractors, utilities, sewer and water agencies, oil, gas, and chemical companies, professors, students would find this book would help them immensely on managing their existing pipelines and on their future project. People in funding pipeline projects, investment bankers, mutual fund managers, venture capitalists, pipe manufacturers, stock analysts also will find the book very useful when it comes to where the new investment opportunities are in the next 10 to 20 years.”
Dr Jeyapalan’s courses, seminars and lectures are reported to be noted for both their insights on recent advances and innovative techniques, as well as for their independence from vendor participation or sponsorship. This is reflected in the 15-chapter book, with its 10 appendices that include a series of sample excel spreadsheets for pipe designs and sample full-length technical specifications.
The book allows engineers, contractors, professors and students to access the tools required to advance their own thinking and work, and to support their careers in an increasingly complex and important area of engineering and infrastructure expansion, he adds.
“Contemporary pipeline technology can produce extremely reliable and cost-effective systems and yet many outcomes are compromised due to limited resources to keep industry professionals current on advances in the field. Additionally, utilities and municipalities are not taking advantage of the potential to collaborate in order to build solutions together. As a result, roads are ripped up multiple times as each utility lays pipe solely to meet its specific purpose. However, an engineering professional can address the challenges and bring new opportunities into play by integrating the latest advances and thinking into his work,” he points out.
“The primary goal of my new book is to familiarize owners, utilities, engineers and contractors interested in pipeline design, construction and asset management with the recent body of knowledge and to alert them to common problems.
Dr Jeyapalan currently heads his own company, Dr Jeyapalan & Associates, an international engineering and business consultant firm based in Connecticut, in the US.