Mr. Vieth is Senior Vice President for CC Technologies, Inc., (CC Technologies).  Mr. Vieth is a Mechanical Engineer and has eighteen years of experience in the field of pressure vessel fracture behavior and defect assessment methods for transmission pipeline systems.  Prior to joining CC Technologies, Mr. Vieth held positions with Battelle and Kiefner & Associates, Inc.

Mr. Vieth’s expertise is primarily directed toward assisting the operators of transmission pipeline systems with the development and implementation of short-term and long-term pipeline integrity management programs.  Specifically, he works with operators to develop programs to reduce the likelihood of failures through in-line inspection, hydrostatic testing, defect assessment, risk assessment, and fitness-for-purpose assessment.

Mr. Vieth has been active in research and the development of innovative solutions within the pipeline industry.  He was a key-contributor in the validation and implementation of the RSTRENG corrosion assessment method.  RSTRENG is recognized within the Federal Code of Federal regulations for transmission pipeline systems as a method for assessing the remaining pressure-carrying capacity of pipe, which has sustained wall loss due to corrosion.

Mr. Vieth was also a team member that developed a Transverse Field Inspection (TFI) program to address a pipeline operator’s specific integrity concern.  The TFI program utilized a new technology to identify longitudinal seam weld defects that could pose an integrity concern to the pipeline operations.  Success in the development, validation, and implementation of this TFI program resulted in the Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Pipeline Safety’s (OPS) acceptance of this program in lieu of mandated hydrostatic testing to verify the integrity of the pipeline system.

Mr. Vieth has conducted several full-scale testing programs to evaluate the fracture behavior of defects in pressure vessels.  These testing programs were conducted under the sponsorship of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to evaluate the fracture behavior of power plant piping subjected to dynamic loading.

Additional full-scale testing programs have been conducted to evaluate the pressure-carrying capacity of defects identified in transmission pipeline systems (natural gas and hazardous liquids) and removed from services.  These tests have been used to evaluate the pressure-carrying capacity of pipe sections containing defects such as corrosion-caused metal loss and longitudinal seam weld defects.