Spanning eight acres in Houston, Texas, the TDC includes a five-acre state-of-the-art pull test facility, a liquid loop facility, and an expansive 20,000-square-foot workshop and test facility. Additionally, it offers 9,000 square feet of office and meeting space, creating an ideal environment for collaboration, testing, and innovation.

Having a single location capable of accumulating former in-service pipe materials with real-world pipeline features and flaws is invaluable to PRCI’s R&D Program and the pipeline industry as a whole. The Technology Development Center (TDC) serves as a central hub for advancing research, offering a space to host industry-sponsored training sessions and hands-on workshops. This unique facility allows researchers, engineers, and industry professionals to collaborate and explore innovative solutions to critical pipeline challenges.

The TDC provides the industry with an independent, third-party site to comprehensively evaluate the capabilities of current tools and technologies. By doing so, it helps guide the development of new, advanced technologies needed to achieve higher levels of pipeline safety, efficiency, and reliability. This facility bridges the gap between research and practical application, pushing the industry towards breakthroughs that benefit operators and the public alike.

PRCI also maintains an extensive library of over 1,600 pipe samples containing both natural and manufactured defects, which serve as critical assets for research and development. These samples come in a variety of sizes, ranging from small coupons to full joints of pipe in different diameters, providing researchers with a diverse selection of materials to study. Custom pipe strings, up to 250 feet in length, can be constructed to meet specific research requirements. The pull test facility features a high-capacity winch capable of achieving consistent velocities from 1 to 11 mph while pulling over 40,000 lbs, enabling precise testing scenarios.