Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Pi
Long Range
Guided Wave
Ultrasonic Testing
CONTENTS
Page
Preface
Teletest system
The Teletest Focus Unit
Teletest Muti-Mode Tools
System overview
Propagating the guided waves
Multimode inspection
Collecting and displaying data - Teletest Software
5
5
6
7
8
10
10
Appendix:
Teletest Focus
15
16
18
18
18
21
21
22
23
Evidence of Performance
29
32
Power industry
54
Special applications
56
59
Summary
66
PREFACE
Long range ultrasonic testing (LRUT) is arguably the most significant development in the field of nondestructive testing to have taken place over the last two decades. It is being used increasingly,
primarily in the oil and gas industries, for the inspection of pipes and pipelines in order to detect
corrosion.
LRUT was first introduced as a commercial technique under the trade name Teletest by Plant
Integrity Limited (Pi) - a wholly owned subsidiary of The Welding Institute (TWI) - in 1997.
This booklet is designed to:
Give information about the many applications of Teletest in the upstream (exploration and
production), midstream (pipelines) and downstream (process plant) sectors of the oil, gas and
petrochemical industries and in the power generation industries.
LRUT has tremendous potential for further development by improving the sensitivity and productivity
of current applications and also taking the technology into totally new applications. Research activities
being undertaken by TWI and Pi are described in Section 10.
Asymmetrical
wave
Asymmetrical
wave
Figure1 Plate waves
Direction of propagation
Symmetrical
wave
Symmetrical
wave
The velocity of plate waves may vary with frequency. When this occurs, they are described as being
dispersive. Therefore, a pulse of plate waves, containing groups of different frequencies, will broaden
as it travels - the lower frequency components travelling more slowly.
Guided waves are a special case of plate waves travelling in a wave guide, commonly a pipe. The
particle displacements are similar, but because the pipe acts as a wave-guide, the pulses can travel
over even longer distances, exceeding 100m under some conditions. Figure 2 illustrates the principal
wave modes that can be generated in pipe.
Longitudinal
Torsional
Flexural
The variation of velocity with frequency, wave mode, pipe diameter and wall thickness is illustrated by
means of dispersion curves. A simplified illustration showing four wave modes only is shown in Fig.3.
These are for a specific pipe diameter and wall thickness. Other diameters and thicknesses will have
their own families of dispersion curves.
6.0
L(0,2)
L(0,1)
F(1,3)
Vgr
(m/s)
Group
velocity
4.0
T(0,1)
2.0
0.0
0.00
0.0
0.02
0.04
0.06
Frequency (MHz)
Frequency (kHz)
0.08
0.10
100
Because their velocity is influenced by wall thickness, guided waves exhibit their most important
characteristic for NDT; that of being sensitive to changes in wall thickness. They are therefore
sensitive to corrosion or erosion, whether it is on the inside or outside surface of the pipe. They are
also sensitive to cracks provided that they present a significant planar reflection transverse to the axis
of the pipe.
This characteristic is based on the physical phenomenon that whenever ultrasound velocity changes
at a boundary, a small proportion is reflected. The effect can be caused equally by an increase in wall
thickness, at a pipe girth weld for example, or a decrease in wall thickness at an area of corrosion or
erosion (Fig.4)
Teletest was the first commercially available system to utilise long-range ultrasonic testing for
detecting corrosion in pipelines. TWI developed the technology in response to requests from Industrial
Members in the Oil, Gas and Petrochemical industries. These companies required an NDT method
capable of detecting corrosion in pipes and pipelines at areas inaccessible for inspection by
conventional NDT methods, i.e. insulated and sleeved pipework, or pipelines running under roads or
elevated on pipe racks, etc. The original Teletest equipment has been replaced by a system with
greatly enhanced capability and the flaw detector is sold under the Teletest Focus trade mark.
The basic system consists of:
Longitudinal operation
Torsional operation
Multi-Mode operation
Focusing operation
The modules are forced into contact with the pipe by means of a lightweight inflatable collar Figure 7
shows a collar that has been populated with multi-mode modules. The collar is assembled around the
pipe by a rapid clamping mechanism shown in Fig.7. Modules can be quickly removed from the
collars and re-fixed in another collar for use on a different pipe diameter. Unlike conventional UT, a
liquid couplant between transducer and pipe surface is not applied. There merely needs to be
sufficient, evenly distributed pressure of the transducer on the test surface. This is achieved by the air
pressure which is supplied and controlled by an on-board pump, built into the Teletest Focus unit.
Fig.7 Carbon Fibre Collar populated with multi-mode modules (left) and rapid clamp
mechanism (right)
A user needs sufficient multi-mode modules for the largest diameter pipe of interest. The appropriate
number can then be selected for any pipe of smaller diameter.
System overview
Figure 8 shows the complete Teletest Focus system, with the populated tool clamped around the
pipe and connected to the unit which is in turn connected to the controlling ruggedised lap-top pc via a
PCMCIA communication unit.
Test pipe
Laptop PC
PCMCIA
or USB
Communication unit
The frequency of the oscillation must be low enough and therefore the wavelength of the ultrasound
long enough for the waves to affect the internal and external surfaces of the pipe simultaneously. For
this to happen, the frequency is in the 10-100kHz range.
To limit the number of wave modes generated the transducers are mounted in a ring. Each transducer
oscillating on its own would generate a flexural wave, but if oscillating in unison the ring generates an
axisymmetric wave. Acoustic coupling with the pipe must be the same for all transducers if this is to
occur. Moreover the number of transducers in the ring has to be carefully chosen.
Fig.10 Propagation of
axisymmetric guided waves
If a single ring of transducers were employed the wave would propagate in both directions (Fig.10).
This would be unsatisfactory, since any reflected signals from each direction would be superimposed
and the operator would be unsure whether a reflector was in the forward or backward going direction.
To overcome this problem two or more rings of transducers are employed (see Fig.11). The rings are
spaced a quarter wavelength apart. There is a time delay between the triggering of the two rings such
that the ultrasound travelling in the forward direction from the two rings is additive whereas that going
backwards from one ring is cancelled out by ultrasound generated by the second.
In practice a third ring is added when generating longitudinal waves in order to cancel out completely
the undesirable dispersive L(0,1) mode. For torsional wave generation two rings are sufficient
because the only wave mode is T(0,1) and this is non-dispersive. Thus, the Teletest Multi Mode
system uses five rings.
After firing a pulse of ultrasound, the transducers are stationary for several milliseconds as they wait
to receive any reflected pulse. The transmitted waves, whether longitudinal or torsional, are
axisymmetric.
If the reflector is itself axisymmetric, e.g. a pipe flange or a circumferential weld, the reflected signal
will also be axisymmetric.
However, an asymmetric reflector, e.g. localised corrosion, causes mode conversion from the
axisymmetric wave (longitudinal or torsional) into a flexural wave (see Fig.12).
Teletest uses this feature to distinguish between symmetrical features (welds and flanges) as
opposed to localised corrosion areas.
The Teletest Focus transducer rings are divided into eight octants. As well as recording the total of
the received signals, the unit records the difference between the signals received by the top and
bottom pair of octants to give V, the vertical flexural component.
Similarly the difference between the signals received by the right and left hand pairs of octants is
recorded to give H, the horizontal flexural component.
Finally, if the flexural response is partly horizontal and partly vertical, as it would be for a flaw at, for
example, the 2 oclock position, then the equivalent flexural response
2
2
H + V is calculated. If the
flexural response is small compared to the symmetrical response the indication will be interpreted as
a weld or flange, whereas reflectors giving strong flexural responses are will be interpreted as
corrosion or other types of flaw.
For all applications where the position of the welds is unknown, it is absolutely essential to be able to
distinguish welds from corrosion. This ability is one of the strengths of the Teletest system.
Multimode inspection
In the past, most inspections were carried out with a single wave mode, longitudinal or torsional.
However, this has proved to be unsatisfactory. Some types of flaw are more readily detected by
longitudinal waves, whilst, for some situations, torsional waves give a less noisy response. For this
reason, Pi emphasise the great advantage of the Teletest Multi-Mode system. Figure 13 shows a
Multi-Mode module.
10
Before the signals on the A-scan can be interpreted, Distance Amplitude Correction (DAC) curves are
plotted on the display. It has been found that the signals from girth welds in the pipe that decay away
gradually with distance makes ideal reflectors with which to set the DAC. From experience, it is known
that the reflection from a girth weld with normal cap and root profile is 14dB (a factor of 5) less intense
than the reflection from the pipe end (i.e. total reflection). This is the blue line in .14. Furthermore,
experience also shows that an area of thinning which has resulted in a loss of cross-sectional area of
9% in the pipe wall will produce a signal that is a further 12dB less intense than the signal from the
girth weld. This 26dB level is used as a threshold for evaluating signals and is the green line in the
A-scan.
The Teletest operator uses the A-scan display for interpretation purposes. At the end of an
inspection the software can automatically generate a report in a Microsoft Word template. Separate
templates exist for specific situations - road crossings for example. The templates can be customised
to suit the inspection companys own formats.
To record signals in the report, the test operator simply selects relevant signals in the A-scan with the
screen cursor. The program automatically measures the peak of the signal as a value above or below
the 14dB DAC curve, then measures the distance of the leading edge of the signal from the centre
line of the transducer ring. An offset may be entered which allows distance to be measured from a
known datum point rather than from the ring.
The Teletest report also contains information about the test that was entered into the User
Information page of the setting up program. For example pipe identification, test location and pipe
size. The next three pages are samples from a report. The report template also includes some
standard text for the benefit of the end-user describing the technique and the Teletest system. The
report is normally generated from one of several processed data files gathered at each test location,
so that it may be the result of observations taken from other processed data files taken with different
test parameters, for example at a range of test frequencies.
11
TEST DETAILS
This report contains the findings of a Teletest inspection on the following:
Pipe Inspected:
Location:
Date of Test:
Procedure:
Equipment:
Test carried out by:
PIPE DETAILS
co nditio n: pipe _S tand ar dName! =Other
Material:
Manufacturing Standard:
Nominal Size:
Outer Diameter:
Nominal Wall Thickness:
Observed Pipe Condition:
Pipe Orientation:
Test Direction:
Ferritic steel
ANSI/ASME B36.10M 'Welded
Wrought Steel Pipe'
8 in
8.625 in
7.04 mm Schedule 30
Heavily Pitted, Viscous Contents
Horizontal
Both
DATUM
12
and
Seamless
RESULTS
Features identified in the valid test length are:
Distance From Datum
-24.785m
-10.335m
-0.092m
7.017m
8.665m
9.908m
11.191m
12.291m
14.013m
18.833m
19.581m
28.572m
29.927m
38.29m
39.427m
40.436m
47.599m
49.152m
Anomaly Description
Weld
Anomaly (minor)
Pipe Support
Anomaly (minor)
Weld
Anomaly (minor)
Pipe Support
Anomaly (minor)
Anomaly (minor)
Weld
Pipe Support
Pipe Support
Pipe Support
Weld
Pipe Support
Anomaly (minor)
Weld
Anomaly (minor)
13
Comments
14
APPENDIX:
Test Information
Test Frequency: 30 kHz
Indication Type
Anomaly (minor)
Weld
Pipe Support
Anomaly (minor)
Weld
Pipe Support
Weld
Pipe Support
Weld
Anomaly (minor)
15
Comments
Teletest Focus
As explained above, the modules in a Teletest Focus tool are grouped in eight octants around the
tools perimeter. The unit triggers the octants separately so that the tool acts as a phased array.
Furthermore, the power to each octant can be adjusted to compensate for any variation in coupling.
The phasing of the firing of the transducer modules enables ultrasound to be focused at a
predetermined position both along and around the pipe. Thus, when a normal screening test has
identified the longitudinal position of a flaw which might normally be deemed marginal, ultrasound can
be focused at the position and the focal point can then be swung around the pipe in eight steps. This
means that it is possible to determine both the circumferential position and the circumferential extent
of a flaw. From the latter information, it is possible to estimate the flaws depth and to distinguish
between a long shallow flaw and a narrow deep one, both having similar total cross sectional areas.
This is obviously a significant advantage since the narrow deep flaw is potentially more detrimental.
Fig.15 Normal
A-scan
Figure 15 shows a normal A-scan. There is an anomaly, designated #88, at a distance of -15.42m
from the tool. It is a small horizontal flexural signal, and was chosen to focus on for the purposes of
anomaly clarification. In the above A-scan this anomaly represents a cross sectional area change of
approximately 3%.
Figure 16 shows a focus scan with the focal point at a longitudinal position of -15.42m and at an angle
of 45 from top dead centre. The polygon plotted inside the polar plot, on the bottom right hand side of
the screen, shows the amplitude of each octant relative to all of the others. The maximum amplitude is
displayed as contact between the gray polygon and the black circle. The red dot on the outside of the
black circle indicates the circumferential position of the A-scan being displayed in the main window.
In Fig.17 the circumferential position has been rotated to show the maximum amplitude signal. This
was located exclusively at the 225 position. Signals in all the remaining seven octants were
negligible.
16
Fig.16 Focus
scan at 45
Thus using the focusing technique the size of the anomaly can be more accurately determined. In this
example the small anomaly, first identified in Fig.15, is concentrated in just one octant. This indicates
that the anomaly is more severe than the initial scan suggests.
Fig.17 Focus
scan at 225
17
METHODS
GENERAL
The methods considered are:
Visual inspection
Manual UT thickness gauging
Mechanised UT
Profile radiography
Intelligent pigging has not been considered in this note, since Teletest is not seen as a method for
testing long lengths of cross-country transmission lines.
However, Teletest may have a complimentary role to intelligent pigging, in that the MFL devices
often used on pigs are understood to become ineffective when the pipe passes through a metal
1
Anon, BMI Building Maintenance Price Book Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Building Cost
Services Ltd., London, 2003.
18
sleeve, as would often occur at road crossings. Thus the pig could be used for the bulk of the line and
Teletest for the sleeved portions.
Furthermore, there are limitations to the application of intelligent pigs. Pig launching and receiving
facilities must be available. Also for some intelligent pigs there are minimum flow velocity
requirements, which cannot always be achieved. In such cases Teletest may provide a viable
alternative.
Visual inspection
Visual inspection requires direct access to the pipe, and of course internal corrosion cannot be
detected unless a camera can be fitted to an internal crawler. This is often the case in inspected
sewer mains, but not with product flow lines.
Another problem is that it is often difficult to quantify the amount of corrosion in a given area. The
depth of individual pits may be measured with a pin gauge.
UT Thickness gauging
The ultrasonic probe must be placed in direct contact with the pipe surface and the surface must be
clean and smooth enough to allow coupling of the transducer and pipe wall ultrasonically. A liquid
couplant is necessary.
This technique is often regarded as unreliable. It is very difficult to replicate the tests exactly so
sequential results can be inconsistent with apparent increases in pipe wall thickness due to very small
differences in the couplant thickness between probe and pipe surface.
When using a digital UT thickness gauge, without an A-scan display, it is possible to take erroneous
readings off laminations in the pipe wall.
Coverage depends on the spacing of the test points. Typically sampling is carried out at three
positions along a 12m length and at these positions thickness is measured at the 12, 3, 6 and 9
o'clock positions. Thus only 12 measurements are made per pipe length and there is a considerable
chance that a corroded area will be missed. Even if the testing density is greatly increased, there
remains a significant chance that corroded areas will be missed.
Mechanised UT
The same limitations apply as for UT thickness gauging. The mechanical device that scans the UT
probe over the pipe surface needs space to operate and without special scanning arms will not
operate around the inside of elbows. Figure18 shows a mechanical scanner on a riser pipe. It is
scanning around only a one metre wide band of the pipe.
However, coverage is 100% of that band and a very detailed map of corrosion on the internal pipe
surface is produced.
19
Profile radiography
Profile radiography uses a low energy radiation source and a fluorescent screen to produce a
radiograph in real-time. Its purpose is to test through insulation. It is only sensitive to external metal
loss and examines that part of the pipe wall to which the beam is tangential.
Thus a single shot provides information on one chord only. Full coverage requires a number of shots.
Normal radiographic safety procedures require an area surrounding the equipment to be clear of
personnel whilst testing is in progress.
20
Flange
Conve n tional
Tran s ducer
(a)
Loca l ised
Inspe c tion
Weld
Metal loss
Metal loss
Guided Wave
Flange
Teletest Tool
(b)
100%
Inspe c tion
Weld
Metal loss
Metal loss
30m
Fig.19 Comparison between conventional and Teletest inspection of pipe.
a) Conventional techniques inspect a few cm2 under the device
b) Teletest inspects 100% of the pipe wall for tens of metres in each direction
Teletest
For this technique, direct access to pipe is required only over a short length to enable the ring of
ultrasound transducers of the Teletest Tool to be placed. From this one position typically 60m of
pipe (30m in each direction) can be tested. So road crossings for example, can be covered without
excavation.
Coverage is 100%. Both internal and external corrosion and erosion can be detected and its position
along the pipe length located. Test rates up to 500m per day have already been achieved but, for the
purposes of this comparison, a conservative rate of 200m per day will be assumed.
Access costs
The costs of gaining access to pipe to carry out conventional NDT include:
Insulated pipe - A number of methods require direct access to the bare pipe wall. Removal and
reinstatement of insulation to 1m of 12 inch pipe is estimated to cost 42 (US$75 or Euro 61. This
estimate assumes that the existing insulation does not contain asbestos. If it does, the estimate would
be considerably higher.
Elevated pipe - Fixed scaffolding to access 1m of pipe elevated 2m above ground level is estimated
to cost 15 (US $27 or Euro 22).
Buried pipe - The cost of excavating and reinstating 1m length of a 2m deep by 900mm wide trench
to provide access to a 12-inch pipe is given in the reference (p.678) as 97 (US$175 or Euro 141). A
common application is to road crossings. The cost of breaking up and reinstating a 900mm wide
trench in a 200mm deep tarmac and hardcore roadway is given (p680) as 64 (US$115 or Euro 93)
per metre length. Buried pipe is often contained in a steel sleeve. No estimate has been made of the
cost of cutting and reinstating such sleeves. This might be as much as 250 (US$450 or Euro363) per
metre.
Testing Costs
In the summary of costs, those for situations where there is no access problem have been provided
by benchmarking European/North American NDT service companies. They are average costs and
assume 100% coverage in all cases except for manual UT, for which spot checking is assumed.
21
Cost Summary
Table 1 Estimated costs as a ratio to the costs of a Teletest inspection for 1m of 12inch
diameter pipe
7.8
Buried in
road
crossing
13.0
Buried
and
insulated
10.3
1.8
Elevated
and
insulated
5.2
8.2
13.1
10.6
22
5.5
11.4
13
17.9
15.1
7.9
10.7
4.7
4.7
11.1
16.0
10.3
5.6
5.2
5.5
5.5
11.7
16.4
10.9
6.4
5.8
Insulated
Buried
Visual
No
access
problem
0.5
4.7
Manual UT
0.9
5.1
Mechanised
UT
7.2
Profile
radiography
Pulsed eddy
current
Elevated
MFL
5.5
10.2
12.1
16.6
13.9
6.4
9.3
Teletest
22
Teletest will provide information on the metal loss feature in terms of range from the transducer (or
agreed datum) and severity (minor, moderate or severe).
Long range ultrasonic testing, as currently used, cannot distinguish between a wide shallow flaw and
a deep axial narrow flaw of similar cross sectional area.
Pipe diameters
Teletest tooling currently held by Pi is suitable for testing all pipe diameters (ANSI/ASME nominal
bore) from 1.5 to 48 inches. Other sizes both smaller and larger (based upon standard pipe
diameters) are available to order.
Access
Access is required to 0.5m of bare pipe in order to mount the transducer ring. The ring also needs to
be at least 1m from the nearest girth weld.
Pipe configurations
Teletest really scores on straight sections of pipework, where inspection of tens of metres in either
direction can be achieved. Testing around swept or pulled bends generally causes no problems.
Testing around elbows can result in mode conversion of the guided ultrasound wave and thus
reduced testing capabilities. Testing from a main line will not cover branch lines. These should be
tested separately.
Temperatures
Pipe surface temperatures can be up to +125C.
External coatings
Mineral wool insulation presents no difficulties. Bonded foam polyurethane insulation leads to a loss of
ultrasound. However, this merely results in a reduced inspection range.
Some limited success has been achieved in testing pipe passing through concrete walls and pipe
encased in lightweight fireproofing cement. However, concrete attenuates ultrasound rapidly and may
prevent the effective operation of Teletest.
Bitumastic coatings currently inhibit the effective operation of Teletest, except where they have dried
to a hard finish.
23
Some types of heavy adherent wrapping (Denzo wrap) can result in excessive loss of ultrasound.
Newly applied material causes most problems. Testing has been successful on pipe where the tape
has dried out and is no longer well adhered to the pipe surface. Testing of this type can be on a trial
basis only.
External environment
The Teletest signal can be transmitted along pipe that is immersed in water, with good results.
However, neither the unit itself nor the transducer tool is suitable for sub-sea operation.
Internal environment
As the viscosity of the pipe contents increases, the inspection range decreases due to loss of
ultrasound energy. Heavy deposits on the inside of the pipe can also be highly attenuative.
Pipe condition
Teletest works by detecting echoes from corroded regions of the pipe. Each region acts as a
reflector, in turn reducing the intensity of the ultrasound travelling beyond it. On pipework exhibiting
general heavy corrosion, ultrasound will be reflected from all the corrosion, effectively reducing the
inspection range. It must be remembered that this in itself is a result and the corrosion would be
reported accordingly.
Heavy corrosion at the place where the Teletest tool is placed is a particular attenuative because it
prevents the formation of a symmetrical wave. Test areas should be examined with a scan from a
conventional 0 ultrasonic probe beforehand.
Test range
The pipe is interrogated first in one direction and then in the other from the one transducer location.
Typically ranges of 30m are achieved. Under ideal conditions, this has gone up to 180m. However,
it can be less, if conditions are unfavourable.
Table 2 summarises the factors affecting performance, principally the test range over which adequate
signal to noise separation is achieved. As the degree of difficulty of guided wave propagation
increases, so the test range decreases and noise increases.
Easy
Difficult
Surface condition
Bare metal
Smooth well bonded paint
Mineral wool insulation
Fusion bonded epoxy
Light pitting
Heavy pitting
Plastic coating
Bitumastic coating
Concrete coating
Geometry
Contents
Straight lengths
Gas
Infrequent swept/pulled
bends
Attachments/brackets
High viscosity liquid
Branches
Many bends
24
Waxy or sludgey
deposits
Productivity
Test rates of up to 1km per day have been achieved. As with conventional NDT, the rate of inspection
depends largely on the condition on the pipework being inspected.
Proven applications
Teletest has been used commercially over six years. During this time its benefits have been proven
on:
Painted pipework
Mineral wool insulated lines
Polyurethane foam insulated lines
Bund wall penetrations
Buried pipelines
o
High temperature lines (<+125 C)
Mixed phase lines
Offshore risers
Road crossings
Offshore risers
Sleeves sections
Spirally welded pipe
Sleeved sections
Spirally welded pipe
Stainless steel pipe
Road crossings
Potential applications
Teletest is in a continual state of development. Among the applications currently under
consideration are:
Wind turbine towers.
Offshore platform jacket structures
Railway lines.
Cables
Requirements on site
Teletest is foremost a rugged site inspection tool, simple to operate and with few parts that can
develop faults. For operation it needs:
Philosophy of screening
Teletest does not provide a direct measurement of wall thickness, but is sensitive to a combination
of the depth and circumferential extent of any metal loss, plus the axial length to some degree.
This is due to the transmission of a circular wave along the pipe wall, which interacts with the annular
cross-section at each point. It is the reduction in this cross-section to which the guided wave is
sensitive.
Figure 20 illustrates that the technique is sensitive to flaw area as a proportion of the pipe-wall crosssection.
It is equally sensitive to internal and external flaws. The effect of multiple flaws is additive.
25
A1
A + A2 + A3
A% = 1
100
Dt
A3
A2
Corrosion is the most common cause of failure in pipes. It is imperative that any pipe carrying
hazardous or high pressure fluid be inspected at appropriate intervals to detect any corrosion
sufficiently early for the system to be shut down and for remedial measures to be taken before failure
or leakage occurs.
Because Teletest is so much cheaper and requires less preparatory work (excavation, insulation
removal, etc) than other inspection techniques it can be used more frequently in this monitoring role.
Only when a suspect position on the pipe is identified is that part of the pipe exposed for more
detailed examination by a conventional NDT method. This would usually be visual inspection for
external flaws or ultrasonic thickness gauging for internal corrosion.
In comparison with other methods of monitoring Inspections can be carried out more frequently with
Teletest because:
Scaffolding is not necessary.
Pipes do not have to be dug up.
Only a small area of insulation has to be removed.
Plant does not have to be shut down.
Greater coverage is achieved with Teletest because:
On average, 60m of pipe can be inspected from one location.
Internal and external corrosion are detected simultaneously.
The complete pipe circumference is inspected.
More consistent results between repeat inspections are achieved with Teletest because:
Placement of the Teletest Tool is replicated exactly.
Calibration of the A-scan is exactly the same; the same pipe welds are used to set the Distance
Amplitude Correction curves that determine the test sensitivity.
26
EVIDENCE OF PERFORMANCE
Teletest pipe inspection procedures have been validated in extensive trials and performance
demonstrations.
Signal Amplitude, dB
-20
Reporting level
-40
-60
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
flaw response
best fit
Fig.21 Signal versus flaw area as a percentage of total cross sectional area
27
50%
This was managed by University College, London and included the gathering of NDT data from
controlled corroded 6" diameter pipe samples. Eight different NDT methods were compared. The data
were collected in blind trials and evaluated by an independent team from Bureau Veritas.
Figure 22 shows Teletest results from 36 defects. The plot is of defect depth against defect
circumferential length. Lines representing 3% and 9% loss of cross sectional area are also shown.
The plot shows that the limit of detection is at the 3% level, only one flaw below this level being
detected. All flaws greater than the 9% of cross section target were detected.
The data show the classic probability of detection characteristics, with an increasing likelihood of
detection with area above the 3% level.
These results are important as they demonstrate that the performance of the technique, determined
from 'open' tests on specimens with known flaws, could be reproduced when testing real corroded
pipes with unknown (internal) flaws.
100%
% Wall thickness
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
% Circumference
Detected
Not Detected
9% Area
3% Area
28
It can be seen that the probability of detection of flaws in the 24" PRCI pipes is higher than that for the
6" RACH pipes and approaches 100% when the flaws exceed 6% of pipe cross section.
Probability of Detection
100%
PRCI
data
POD %
80%
60%
RACH data
40%
20%
0%
0
10
12
Flaw Area %
Fig.23 Plot
of probability
of detection
(POD)
against
forthe
the
RACH
PRCI
Fig.22
Plot of probability
of detection
(POD)
againstflaw
flaw area
area for
RACH
andand
PRCI
blindblind
trials
trails
Demonstrations
Teletest is demonstrated regularly to potential clients in order to prove capability. Two of the more
the critical demonstrations were:
Jay oil field, Alabama/Florida
Teletest was being used to inspect a high-pressure water injection line buried in and around the
main Jay facility. The pipe was buried in a light sandy soil and wrapped in plastic. The test results
were acted upon immediately. The position of any anomaly on the Teletest A-scan was measured
and paced out form the Teletest tool placed on exposed pipe in a bell-hole. One such indication is
shown in Fig.23.
Weld
Corrosion
29
The anomaly, indicated by the (+) in the figure just beyond the weld, approaches the moderate
threshold level - the blue DAC curve.
A bell hole was dug down to the pipe at the indicated position, where corrosion was revealed. It was
decided to cut out the corroded section of pipe (Fig.24). This confirmed the presence of severe
corrosion at the position indicated, just beyond the weld.
The corresponding Teletest A-scan is shown in Fig.26. It has been magnified, a useful feature of the
software, to view the signal just in front of the weld. The corrosion gives rise to a moderate anomaly,
about 750mm in front of the signal from the weld. The signal in the anomaly indicated by a peak in the
red line indicating a horizontal flexural response due to the corrosion being concentrated near the
three or nine oclock positions.
30
W eld
Corrosion
31
Power generation
Teletest Case
Studies
Petrochemical
flow lines
jetty lines
tank farms
Special applications
32
Upstream onshore
Field production flow lines
Most field production lines cannot be pigged. This may be for one of a number of reasons - a pig trap
is not present, the pipe has tight bends or the pipe diameter is too small.
Teletest, can:
Detect damage on the internal and external surfaces with equal sensitivity
Test from only a 500mm wide section of exposed pipe
Test up to 300m of pipe from one test location.
Test several adjacent pipes in sequence
Perform under arduous site conditions
Operate whether the pipe is in or out of service
Provide highly repeatable test results
Detect very small changes in pipe condition between inspections.
Table 4 Selected work in field production flow lines
Client
IRS for Caltex
Chinook for Shell
ExxonMobil
With Fairshores for Shell
Application
4" line pipe in oil field
10" plastic wrapped buried pipe around
Waterton gas field.
High pressure water injection line around
the St Regis processing facility.
Assa manifold piping and 8" delivery
lines in Assa and Ahia Oilfields.
Location
Indonesia
Alberta
Florida
Nigeria
33
The urgency of the work led to immediate investigation of any indications detected by Teletest. This
was a true test of the system performance and the confidence of the operators.
Four anomalies were recorded and confirmed. Pipe elbows could be identified in the A-scans, which
was helpful when tracking the line after it had taken some unexpected turns in the plant.
The line was tested successfully by sinking deep bell-holes at about 25m intervals (Fig.28). Even
deep holes were excavated in minutes by labourers from a local village. A manifold in the Ahia field
was tested in a variety of locations to demonstrate the versatility of the Teletest system (Fig.29).
The 8" lines that ran to adjacent well heads from the manifold were known to be corroded. The high
level of signals in the A-scans confirmed this, but the corrosion at the Teletest tool placement
points reduced the test ranges to less than 10m. However this did not prevent the correct
interpretation of unusual geometric features such as pup pieces welded in to join pipes that did not
reach each other. These were confirmed by excavating the pipe.
34
Upstream offshore
Teletest inspections are now a regular occurrence on offshore oil production platforms (Fig.30). On
risers, they offer the only reliable method of inspecting through the splash zone that extends between
the high and low water marks.
Teletest is often the only viable option. It can accurately locate areas to be evaluated more closely
with ultrasonics or radiography. Among its advantages in offshore operations are:
100% of pipe is inspected.
Pipes can be closely spaced
Inspection can be done around bends and elbows
Test range may be sufficient to cross a bridge from test points at either end.
Modular tools can be made up to fit pipe diameters from 1" upwards.
The equipment is small enough for easy transport to and from the platform.
Two-person operation saves on transportation costs and accommodation resources.
Offshore in the Danish sector of the North Sea
Plant Integrity joined the FORCE Institutes inspection services for Maersk in Esjberg for a series of
offshore inspections in the Danish sector of the North Sea.
In the Tyra and Gorm fields a major inspection programme of all the process pipework on the
platforms was instigated after corrosion had been found on one specific pipe.
Extensive ultrasonic corrosion mapping using a computer aided UT system was supported with
Teletest inspections. A range of pipe diameters from 3 to 24" was covered. The compactness of the
35
equipment was a major benefit in transporting it from and to shore and between platforms. Although
over 12 different tool diameters were needed, the modules were interchangeable between collars, an
important saving when a 24" tool contains 56 modules and 168 individual transducer elements.
On the production header lines, which included 18"diameter x 39mm WT pipe and 12"diameter x
33mm WT pipe, some problems were encountered in using the normal procedure of calibrating the
DAC curves using signals from the welds.
This was because the weld caps were not as pronounced in comparison with the thick wall of the
pipes as would be usual for the more common smaller wall thicknesses. However corrosion
associated with the pipe support clamps was successfully identified.
Similar problems were found with two 12"diameter x 33.23mm WT lines on bridges between E and B
platforms and between B and C platforms in Tyra East (Fig.31). Without Teletest, extensive
scaffolding would have been needed for the UT corrosion mapping equipment to gain access to the
pipes, which ran under the bridges. With Teletest, scaffolding was only needed to confirm
indications of corrosion.
On the Dan field, a leak from the inside of a bend in a 24", 9.53mm WT gas pipe led to extensive
inspection.
The pipe crossed a 100m wide bridge between C and F platforms and Teletest was used to inspect
this from just three locations. Only one location, the one in the centre of the bridge, required
scaffolding. The test range extended around the bends at each end of the bridge, where the corrosion
was readily detected.
Risers
Risers present one of the most challenging environments for design, since the damage caused by
seawater and marine growth is accentuated by the high temperatures caused by the product flowing
through the pipe. Risers must also withstand wave action and storm damage. The consequences of
riser rupture can be catastrophic both in terms of the environment and health and safety of those
working on the platform. Some risers are connected to a wellhead directly below the platform but
others are connected to a flowline on the seabed. There is thus a J-bend in the pipe. The riser ends
with a flange connection to the pipework on the platform, usually combined with a valve for
emergency cut-off.
The riser is protected from corrosion by a cathodic protection system, but this is less effective in the
splash zone. The pipe in the splash zone must have additional protection. This might be a coating of a
36
special substance such as Splashtron or the riser may be sealed inside a sheath of stainless steel or
Inconel. Alternatively, several risers may be enclosed in a caisson.
Despite precautions to prevent corrosion, the protection system may break down. The constituency of
the product may change so that the cathodic protection is not optimised or there may be damage
caused by fatigue from platform vibration or even collisions.
Another factor to be taken into account, particularly in the North Sea where regulations to prevent fire
are exceptionally stringent, is the presence of thick fire prevention coatings around the riser.
From time to time therefore, risers have to be inspected. Above water the access is good, the riser is
visible and conventional NDT methods can be applied to determine the condition of the risers internal
surface. Below water the inspection can be done, but with great difficulty, by divers or by ROV.
Underwater inspection is very expensive and there is the cost of surface preparation and removal of
marine growth. In the splash zone inspection from the outside is impossible.
Inspection must therefore be conducted from inside the riser pipe. For this purpose special, intelligent
pigs have been developed from pipeline applications. These carry NDT sensors vertically down inside
the riser to detect damage on the outer and inner surfaces. The inspection is very time consuming
and requires bulky equipment both of which are premium costs in offshore work.
Application
Risers on Neptune and Cleeton
platforms
Pump caisson around riser TWE-A on
Tyra West platform.
Risers on Barykat offshore platform
Risers on un-manned platform in Lake
Maracaibo
Location
North Sea,
southern sector
Danish sector of
North Sea
Thailand
Venezuela
37
It was found that transmission of ultrasound past the anchor flanges was possible and that the
sprayed aluminium coating had no adverse effect on propagation. The pipe ends, 63m away, were
readily detected and the possibility of detecting 9% metal loss flaws in the splash zone, 18-20m from
the transducers was demonstrated.
After successful completion of the on-shore trials, BG International then asked for a baseline survey of
all accessible offshore risers after final installation. A second Teletest survey was therefore
conducted on 12 and 16" risers on the Cleeton platform.
The Teletest survey was this time only partially successful. Data were obtained over a range of 50 to
70 metres from the tops of the caissons. This covered the objectives to examine the splash zone area
and a substantial proportion of the enclosed riser. However, a large amount of reverberation was
observed on all the recorded images, due to the proximity of the anchor flange exacerbated by the
coated surface.
Much cleaner signals were obtained from the previous Teletest survey of risers carried out at the
.
Ardersier Fabrication Yard Here they were carried out on the flame sprayed aluminium alone,
whereas offshore the flame sprayed aluminium was over-coated by epoxy paint.
Attempts were made to improve the coupling contact by dressing with emery cloth, and this
significantly improved the data quality. There was however a practical limit to what could be achieved
by these means in the initial offshore trials and plans were set for a second offshore trail.
On the second offshore visit, the area of transducer application was shot-blasted back to the sprayed
aluminium surface and a single coat of primer applied for corrosion protection. This produced an ideal
situation, in that good sound coupling was achieved with adequate temporary pipe protection. This
approach will be utilised in any further riser inspections.
Operational riser R7 and 'Future use' risers R1, R2 & R5 were surveyed in the Cleeton Riser Tower
(Fig.32). All four risers had adequate access and surface preparation so that good inspection
conditions were achieved. In each case, data were gathered from the anchor flange, beyond the
38
The R2 riser (16") had three restrictions in one area which precluded using the above technique but
was instead inspected using a 12" transducer tool which fitted snugly to the riser with the gap left
adjacent to the obstructions. In both cases, sufficient ultrasound was generated to produce an
acceptable result, which could be repeated at a future date if required. As with the Cleeton risers, both
the above were successfully inspected from the anchor flange, through the splash zone to the first
bend at the sea bed.
39
One of particular interest concerned the inspection of offshore risers. PDVSA own a number of small,
unmanned gas platforms in Lake Maracaibo. They are concerned about the possibility of corrosion
affecting the risers in the splash zone. The purpose of this exercise was to demonstrate in principle
that Teletest was capable of inspecting this zone.
Figure 34 shows the transducer ring clamped around a 6" riser. The range achieved was 13m, but
was only limited by a change in pipe section. The Splashtron coating, whilst causing some slight
signal reduction did not significantly affect the ability to inspect the critical region.
40
Application
Location
Wall penetrations at beach valve station of Middlesbrough, UK
a 36" line at the CATS terminal.
Headers at gas field compressor station
USA
10" gas line through Las Monachas
Venezuela
42" gas transmission line penetrating
inspection pit.
Gloucestershire, UK
Wall penetrations at beach valve station of a 36" line at the CATS terminal.
A 36" gas line passes through this station at either side of control and ESD valves, housed in a
concrete pit. The aim of the inspection was to determine the condition of the line inside the 800mm
thick concrete walls.
On one side, the Teletest tool had to be positioned inside a pup-piece and could not be placed more
than 800mm from the wall due to a forged T-piece in the line. The wall therefore occurred within the
dead-zone of the A-scan. However, in the event good quality data were obtained by performing
frequency sweeps.
41
At one point along the pipe there was a valve station as shown in Fig.36. Note that there are three
branches connecting to the line, two horizontal and one vertical.
The A-scan obtained by shooting from a position just outside the fence is shown in Fig.37. Peaks A
and B show strong horizontal flexural responses (red line) and are the signals from the two horizontal
branches. Peak C, with a strong vertical flexural response (blue line) is from the vertical branch. Note
that it was possible to inspect the line beyond the branches.
Plant Integrity were asked by their Canadian customer, AITEC West, to assist in a novel Teletest
inspection of headers in gas compressor stations in Montana and North Dakota in the USA (see
Fig.38).
The final client, the stations owner, was Northern Borders Pipeline (NBPL). AITEC were subcontractors to Mears Engineering LLC, NBPL's principal inspection company. The challenges
presented by these inspections were: -
42
As Fig.38 shows, the headers were supported on concrete blocks. The aim of the inspections was to
detect possible atmospheric corrosion at the six o'clock position at the interface between the headers
and the concrete supports.
Because of the thicknesses involved, it was decided to inspect using torsional wave excitation. The
Teletest collar was mounted at the quarter length positions of the headers, which were up to 60m
(180 ft) long.
Despite the intervening branches, it was possible to 'see' to the dome ends. The presence of the
branches meant that the top of the pipe was not fully inspected, particularly 'downstream' of each
branch. However, this was not a problem, because, as stated above, the zones of potential corrosion
were at the supports at six o'clock.
NBPL were completely satisfied by these inspections. The plan now is to use Teletest to inspect the
headers on a regular three-yearly basis.
Crossings
Where pipes cross roadways, railways and rivers they have to be buried. Here they become
inaccessible to inspection, even by intelligent pigs, as the presence of an external metal sleeve can
reduce the sensitivity of the pigs electro-magnetic sensors. Crossings are therefore a major problem
when assessing or monitoring pipe condition.
Even for buried pipe, there is a greater risk of failure at crossings. The cathodic protection system
may be adversely affected by contact between the sleeve and the pipe. Furthermore, corrosion may
be accelerated due to drainage of corrosive fluids from the roadway. Crossings are often at low points
in a pipeline and therefore may be affected by intermittent flooding.
The cost of digging up a crossing to uncover a pipe for inspection will be several tens of thousands of
dollars. The costs are incurred from:
Disrupting traffic
Digging trench
Implementing statutory Health and Safety regulations for exposing trenches
Cutting open a sleeve from around the pipe if present
Removing protective pipe coating
Inspecting visually the external surface of the pipe and using radiography or ultrasonics to detect
any flaws on the internal surface of the pipe
Reinstating protective coating
Replacing sleeve
Filling in trench
Repairing road
Teletest offers many advantages for inspecting pipes in road, rail or river crossings:
43
The testing is done from each side of the crossing with only a small 0.5m band of pipe surface
exposed for attaching the transducers.
Internal and external surfaces of the pipe are tested simultaneously.
Normally two tests are required, the Teletest tool shooting from each side of the crossing.
Overlap between A-scans can confirm anomalies. Short crossings, less than 30m wide may be
tested from one side only.
If several pipes run through the same crossing, they can be tested sequentially, only changing the
tool diameter as necessary.
The test can be controlled from a vehicle standing on the roadway.
Inspection can be carried out beyond elbows.
Crossing widths of 60m are normally possible, although under certain test conditions widths of
200m have been achieved.
It is not necessary to take the pipeline out of service.
From the same test position, the pipe can be tested in the direction away for the crossing as well
as into it, doubling the coverage.
Tests are highly repeatable since the test conditions, equipment calibrations, etc. can be
replicated at each test. Very small increases in pipe corrosion can therefore be detected.
Some of the Teletest inspections of crossings in which Pi has been involved are given in (Table 8)
for
Application
Road crossings in Kuparuk and Prudhoe Bay Arctic oil
fields.
Pipe under Bayou crossing.
Location
Alaska
Louisiana
ConocoPhillips Alaska
The oil fields on the North Slope of Alaska border the Arctic Ocean in a nature conservation area. The
permafrost is extremely sensitive to damage. There is therefore a zero-tolerance of leaks from any of
the pipelines and process plant.
The pipelines are laid on supports 1-2m above the ground and are regularly inspected with automated
ultrasonics and/or radiography. However where the pipes cross the roadways, which are built up on 12m high gravel banks (Fig.39) to protect the permafrost, these methods cannot be used without
digging up the pipe. Because the problems of disruption are magnified in Arctic operations, the cost of
digging up one crossing may exceed $500K. An alternative solution was therefore sought by
ConocoPhillips and was found in Teletest.
The pipes around the oil fields of the North Slope are insulated with polyurethane foam. A particular
corrosion problem exists at the so-called 'weld packs'. The pipes were pre-insulated. However, about
half a metre of pipe is left un-insulated until after welding on site. The remaining metre of pipe is
insulated with a site-installed band, the weld pack.
44
Moisture can penetrate at the joints between the weld pack and the pre-installed insulation, causing
localised corrosion. This is therefore characterised by being 500mm to 1m away from the weld. In
lines carrying multiphase products, internal corrosion may also be present often taking the form of
long narrow pits, orientated in the axial direction. These features are generally found between the five
and seven oclock positions.
After showing the adequacy of Teletest in detecting corrosion associated with the weld packs,
Teletest surveys were started in the summer of 1999 and are repeated every summer for a six to
eight week period. High productivity is essential because of the shortness of the weather window.
For each inspection, a band of insulation 500mm wide is removed from the pipe close to the crossing.
The surface is lightly power-brushed to remove residues of insulation before mounting the Teletest
tool (Fig.40). The test is controlled and the results interpreted from a truck parked up on the roadway.
During the 1999 season 64 crossings were inspected in the Kuparuk oil field and 92 in the adjacent
Prudhoe Bay field. Each crossing may have six pipes covering a diameter range of 6, 8, 10, 12, 14,
16, 18 and 24". In these fields there are also caribou crossings that allow migrating herds to cross the
pipelines. These can be over 100m long, are of similar design to the road crossings, and also require
inspection.
Inspections are also carried out on pipes under the gravel pads that support the plant at the wellheads, water injection plants and pumping stations. These usually require bell holes to be sunk to the
buried pipe between pipe ends.
One hundred and ten crossings were inspected in 2000, 79 in 2001, 63 in 2002, 70 in 2003 and 63 in
2004. ConocoPhillips have now established a rolling programme in which 20% of the road crossings
are inspected each summer, so that each crossing is inspected every five years. In this way corrosion
can be accurately monitored.
Loop LLC
This 48" pipe became at the time, the largest diameter pipe tested using a specially constructed
Teletest tool (Fig.41). Because of its size, two modular tools were strapped together. The line could
not be pigged because of the two elbows. With Teletest it was possible to inspect from the
horizontal section past the first elbow into the vertical section and then past the second elbow into the
horizontal section under the bayou. In particular it was also possible to inspect the pipe under the
strap clamping it to the support.
45
PROCESS PLANT
A typical refinery contains many thousands of
metres of pipe, much of it tightly packed, and
under insulation or at heights that cannot be
reached without extensive scaffolding (Fig.42).
Until recently it was acceptable to reduce the
risk of catastrophic failure in pipe by adopting a
leak before break philosophy. The pipes were
merely viewed to look for leaks. The vessels
and other containers on the other hand
received extensive inspection.
This is no longer acceptable as environmental
pollution is not tolerated. Most plant operators
need a rapid pipe inspection technique to
screen their pipework. Teletest meets this
need.
Flow lines
Fig.42 Process plant pipework
Process flow lines often carry toxic fluids at
high temperatures and pressures and are
therefore generally at high risk in plant operations. Pipe monitoring is important for health and safety
as well as for environmental and economic reasons.
Pipes may be subject to damage from both internal and external corrosion, and possibly also from
stress corrosion or creep. If the pipe contents include particles travelling at high velocities or in
turbulence, there is also the possibility of erosion.
Volumetric inspection, of both internal and external surfaces, is necessary using radiographic or
ultrasonic methods. However, these are slow, coverage at a test location will only be a band around
the pipe a few centimetres wide and the surfaces have to be exposed, prepared and made
accessible, which may mean digging up the pipe, removing protective coatings, and erecting
scaffolding.
A particular inspection problem in process plant is caused by the presence of insulation. Perhaps 60%
of a plants pipes are insulated, often with asbestos. The cost of removing insulation for inspection
invariably exceeds the cost of the inspection itself.
46
The insulation itself can cause corrosion if it becomes saturated with water. Corrosion under insulation
(CUI) has been identified as a major inspection issue. The first field use for the Teletest long-range
ultrasonic test technique was for detecting CUI.
As well as insulation, other problems encountered in inspecting flow lines include:
Wide range of pipe diameters
Pipes are in short lengths with frequent elbows
Pipes are very close together, making access difficult for scanning devices
Pipelines are interrupted with valves, branches and support collars
Contents are varied, ranging from light fuel oils to viscous foodstuffs
Pipes are usually elevated in some sections
Pipes are often at high temperature, but can also be at low temperature.
A summary of recent Teletest inspections carried out by Plant Integrity on flow lines in process plant
is given in Table 9.
Application
14" line from ammonia reactor at Channel
View
Fuel oil line at Coryton Refinery
Slurry line damaged by erosion.
Location
Texas
UK
Canada
47
On removal of the insulation for cleaning and visual inspection, these were confirmed as areas of CUI
attack, some of which are shown in Fig.44.
48
The heavy fuel oil was found to attenuate the signal slightly but did not hinder inspection significantly.
Furthermore, the transducers were readily deployed, despite the presence of the steam trace lines.
The longitudinally welded pipe supports at 5m intervals had no adverse effect on transmission.
'Moderate' and 'minor' anomalies, representing suspected metal loss features, were located at 12
locations and were recommended for detailed local examination. Good correlation was found between
the Teletest predictions and the flaws present.
Since service history had shown that these occurrences were difficult to predict, spot thickness
measurements were ineffective in detecting thinned areas prior to leakage.
49
Teletest overcame this problem as 100% of the pipe wall is examined. During initial trials, a test was
carried out on a section where a small leak had already occurred (Fig.46).
The result is shown in Fig.47. The signal approximately 12m from the datum is from a butt weld. The
very large signal which follows at 14m (marked '+') coincided with the location of the leak. This
suggested extensive metal loss.
Weld
It was found by subsequent examination that there was a band of erosion almost through the wall for
the majority of the pipe circumference. The pipe was therefore at the end of its life.
Long pipe lengths - one tank farm may have over 100km of pipe.
Some pipe may be buried, insulated or elevated so that there is no ready access.
Wide range of pipe diameters, typically from 3 to 18".
The pipes can be coated.
Pipelines all penetrate bund-walls. Such penetrations are common corrosion sites.
Pipelines are interrupted with valves, elbows and branches.
50
Pipe contents are varied, ranging from light fuel oils to viscous foodstuffs.
Insulated pipes often have steam heating lines or tracers running along the surface.
There are numerous sites for potential corrosion in pipes including under wet insulation, pipe
support crevices, and concrete accelerated corrosion in bund walls.
To meet environmental legislation and prevent leaks, tank farm operators have taken to
hydrostatic testing the pipelines. This involves filling the pipe with water, pressurising it to one and
a half times its design operating pressure and using sensitive pressure sensing devices to detect
any leaks.
Data is provided for analysis of overall condition of pipe in a tank farm, so that particular problem lines
can be identified and dealt with in a planned maintenance programme.
Application
4-16" pipes in a network on a tank farm including a
1.2km, 14" stainless steel line at Eastham works.
Location
Birkenhead, UK
ST Services Limited
ST Services needed to prove the integrity of the pipes at one of their tank farms at Eastham on the
banks of the River Mersey in the UK. They contemplated achieving this by hydrostatic testing.
However, this suffered from the serious disadvantages mentioned above and they therefore decided
to use Teletest to locate any areas of corrosion.
Pipe diameters were 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14". Some pipes were spirally welded. In the pipe racks,
access was restricted by the close proximity of pipes to each other (Fig.48). Also some were
insulated, some elevated, some buried and some steam jacketed.
51
Despite the challenge of these various conditions, the survey was very successful. Test ranges
depended on pipe condition, geometric features, contents, etc. However, in some cases it was
possible to test 200m of pipe from a single point (100m in each direction). Testing productivity was up
to 500m tested in a day.
Some 7km of pipe were tested from nearly 300 locations. The length of the test shots depended on
the presence of flanges, pipe elbows and pipe attachments, the viscosity of the pipe contents and the
stickiness of the pipe coatings. Most of the pipe was painted with an epoxy coating, which posed no
problem to the guided wave propagation. Some pipe under roadways however was coated in thick
sticky bitumen that reduced guided wave propagation to less than a metre.
The position of corrosion was accurately located along the line so that further assessment could be
carried out with visual inspection and ultrasonics. The Terminal Manager, Andy Smith, said that he
was very pleased with the outcome.
Cross-checking Teletest's findings has given confidence in the predictions. Consequently, ST
Services have abandoned hydrostatic testing. Furthermore, their confidence is such that they have
prioritised the pipes and extended the period between Teletest surveys for all pipes found to be
clear of indications.
Jetties
Most crude oil and oil products are transported in bulk by sea and therefore stored in tanks close to
the shore. Pipelines can extend a long way from the shore to the loading jetties in deep water. The
pipes are generally straight and are closely spaced in racks. Because of their length expansion loops
are a common feature.
Inspection is normally visual with simple digital ultrasonic thickness measurements to keep a check on
the rate of pipe wall thinning. The trend in wall thinning is generally uniform. However, local corrosion
can occur at accelerated rates causing leaks without affecting overall rate of wall loss. Unfortunately
52
isolated corrosion hot-spots can occur where the pipe is not accessible, inside a sleeve for example.
Detection of internal corrosion requires the use of volumetric NDT methods.
Conventional ultrasonic and radiographic methods are impracticable because:
Coverage is very limited. Only a 250mm wide band around a pipe may be tested at one time. One
pipe may be in excess of 1km long.
The pipe may be insulated, in which case the insulation will have to be removed.
A wide range of pipe diameters requires a wide range of scanners and other NDT fixtures.
There is limited access between pipes on a rack.
The underside of pipes on a rack is not accessible.
Pipe contents are varied, ranging from light fuel oils to viscous foodstuffs. In the case of
radiography, this can affect image sensitivity.
Automated ultrasonics and radiography are expensive.
Application
4, 6, 8 and 12" Jetty lines through a sea-wall at
Shellhaven
Three 10", eight 8" and five 6" lines at West Thurrock
terminal
Location
Essex, UK
Essex
Vopak Terminal jetty lines at West Thurrock and Ipswich, United Kingdom
Vopak called in Plant Integrity to conduct Teletest surveys of five 8" import lines at their Ipswich
terminal and nine 6, 8 and 12" import lines at their West Thurrock terminal. In each case, over 0.5km
of pipe was surveyed over a two-day period. In a subsequent job at West Thurrock, Pi inspected three
10", eight 8" and five 5" jetty lines on an overhead gantry. These had a variety of contents; firewater,
oils and gases. The Teletest excitation mode (longitudinal or torsional) was chosen to suit the
conditions in each pipe. All 16 pipes were tested in a two day window; a total pipe length of 1,202m.
The cost of this exercise worked out at approximately 5 (3.5) per metre of pipe inspected over
100% of the pipe wall.
Jetty lines through a sea wall at Shellhaven
This programme involved the inspection of eight lines of 4, 6, 8 and 12" diameter; where they passed
through the 0.8-1.0m thick sea wall between the Shell Haven Refinery and the jetty (Fig.50).
The rest of the jetty lines are inspected visually, with periodic checks on wall thickness with a digital
ultrasonic gauge to track trends in wall thinning. In the sea wall this is not possible.
53
The pipes had a bitumastic wrapping, which absorbed the ultrasound, greatly reducing range.
However, the pipes were accessible from both sides so that, despite the attenuation, the technique
performed successfully. Performance was helped by the wrapping being old and no longer in contact
with the pipe.
Power industry
Piping in power stations (Fig.51) can be divided between primary and secondary piping. The primary
piping operates at high temperatures and the damage mechanisms can be very specific, e.g. creep.
The pipes have to be inspected during shutdowns using special NDT techniques.
The main application for Teletest in the power industry is in screening secondary piping, where its
ability to monitor long lengths of piping is a major advantage.
Application
Fifty-two 50m long, 2" Boiler tubes
Electrical conduit piping
Location
Wylfa Anglesey
New York State
British Energy
Plant Integrity Ltd has carried out a number of inspections for British Energy at their nuclear power
stations.
54
At Wylfa, fifty 2" boiler tubes were inspected with Teletest. Access was very restricted (Fig.52). The
tubes are bent through six right-angle bends and, in order to account for the resulting non-linear
attenuation in the guided waves, the equipment was calibrated on a test pipe simulating the pipes in
the plant (Fig.53).
At Heysham, some secondary piping was inspected from the jetty outside the station. The 24" power
plant pipework was insulated and contained oil. This reduced test ranges, but nearly 1km of line was
inspected in four days. The 16 and 20" pipes were tested from only four locations. Some areas of
heavy corrosion were detected.
For the boiler spine inspection a series of trials were first conducted with Mitsui Babcock at which a
new boiler spine was first finger-printed in its pristine condition and then a series of slots introduced
incrementally at specific positions, such as a collar and a weld.
The increase in amplitude of the signals from the slots was monitored on the Teletest A-scan. These
trials were followed by actual tests at Hartlepool and Heysham power stations.
55
SPECIAL APPLICATIONS
LRUT is a fledgling NDT technology and new applications are continually being uncovered. Some of
the applications are summarised below.
Table 14 Selected special applications
Client
TTS Japan
MQS Cooperheat
IS for Hydro-Agri
Application
Inspection of spherical tank support legs
Reactor coils at Pharmacia and Upjohn
Ammonia sphere support legs
Highways Agency
56
Location
Japan
Illinois, USA
Le
Havre,
France
Dorset, UK
Japan
Kent, UK
Concrete
The first project was carried out by TTS, one of Plant Integrity's Japanese customers. One of the three
spheres concerned is shown on the left. In this case the legs were protected by lightweight concrete.
The following photograph shows how the coating was cut away to allow access for the Teletest tool.
Normal full weight concrete attenuates ultrasound rapidly. However, this relatively thin light-weight
coating was less attenuative and TTS were able to 'shoot' the full 6m height of the 10" and 14"
diameter legs. The results fell into three categories - no corrosion, general corrosion and localised
corrosion.
A record showing local corrosion between 2 and 4m from the datum is shown below. Note the clear
reflection from Weld A, which is above the cladding. TTS's client expressed total satisfaction with the
inspections and monitoring of their sphere legs using Teletest is now planned on a regular basis.
57
Weld A
Corrosion area
The integrity of lampposts has been called into question after some well-publicised instances, where
they have fallen onto carriageways. The main damage stems from internal corrosion.
58
Fig.60
Lamppost inspection
The Teletest tool is positioned at the bottom of the column to inspect the whole column length in one
test (Fig.60). One lamppost can be tested in about 15 minutes, an important consideration when
contemplating a survey of the vast number of lampposts around the country.
59
Objectives
Development of next
generation long range
ultrasonic testing systems
Smart structural diagnostics
using piezo-generated elastic
waves
PIEZO-DIAGNOSTICS
Dates
Funding
Sources
US Department of
Transportation
PetroChem
Inspection
Services
Pi,
FBS Inc
Pennsylvania
State University
Budget
Euro
1,175,000
2004
to
2006
US Department of
Transportation,
Northeast Gas
Association,
BP,
ConocoPhillips
TTS Japan
1,012,000
2001
to
2004
2002
to
2005
TWI Member
Companies
560,000
European
Commission
3,000,000
2002
to
2005
Project
Objectives
Dates
2004
to
2006
TANKINSPECT
Development of inspection
systems for the inspection of
metal pipelines buried in
concrete, water or covered
with coatings
PIPESCAN
Development of ultrasonic
guided wave inspection
technology for the condition
monitoring of offshore
structures
OPCOM
Development of a LRUT
system to examine Offshore
Subset Risers, Steel Catenary
61
Funding
Sources
European
Commission
Budget
Euro
2,000,000
2004
to
2006
European
Commission
2,000,000
2005
to
2008
European
Commission
2,900,000
European
Commission
2,000,000
Project
Objectives
RISERTEST
Long Range Ultrasonic
Condition Monitoring of
Engineering Assets
LRUCM
Funding
Sources
Budget
Euro
2005-2008
European
Commission
4,300,000
2005-2007
European
Commission
2,000,000
2007-2010
British
Government
1,850,000
2007-2010
British
Government
1,850,000
CHAINTEST
LRUT in the Food Processing
Industry
Dates
FOOD
NDT Inspection of
Inaccessible Electrical Wiring
in Aging Aircraft
AWARE
Total
24,647,000
62
Unfocused
Focused
300
300
Pipe end
In itia l pu ls e
250
200
200
signal
signal
Initial pulse
250
150
P ip e e n d
150
100
100
50
50
ra n g e , ft
range, ft
63
27.8
26.5
25.2
24.0
22.7
21.5
20.2
18.9
17.7
16.4
15.1
13.9
12.6
11.4
8.8
10.1
7.6
6.3
5.1
3.8
2.5
1.3
0.0
27.8
26.5
25.2
24.0
22.7
21.5
20.2
18.9
17.7
16.4
15.1
13.9
12.6
11.4
8.8
10.1
7.6
6.3
5.1
3.8
2.5
1.3
0.0
D e fe c t s ig na ls
Focusing can also be used to enhance inspection of pipe with elbows (Fig.63).
Direction of
wave
propagation
64
This modelling is continuing in the development of the next generation of hardware to widen the scope
of LRUT applications. The project has used a three dimensional finite element technique to visualise
the wave modes and calculate the dispersion curves for wave propagation in a rail (Fig.64).
Other models have shown the interaction of a guided wave in a pipe with a pipe branch (Fig.65).
SMART structures
Total budget: 2 million
Duration: 3 years, finishing 2005
This project is funded by the EC Commission.
SMART structures that are able to look after themselves, and give warning of any impending failure
are part of the future in maintenance. This project aims to develop a new structural diagnostics
environment based on piezoelectric generated wave propagation with the following characteristics.
A long distance wave generation technique based on advanced, low frequency, piezoelectric
transducers
An advanced signal processing system able to identify location and intensity of multiple flaws
affecting elastic wave propagation.
The vision for the future is to fully integrate localised monitoring with remote assessment via
telecommunications technology. It will allow real-time monitoring of a structure 24 hours a day. One
can envisage real-time decision-making on infrastructure integrity over the Internet.
65
The technology aims to enhance the sensitivity of long-range ultrasonic techniques by using
information contained within the waveform of the transmitted pulses of ultrasound in a manner similar
to ultrasonic spectroscopy. Pre-stressed low frequency piezoelectric actuators that can operate in
resonant, static or quasi-static modes transmit the ultrasound while novel PVDF piezo-electric sensors
detect the ultrasound.
SUMMARY
Teletest is a new and potent tool in the armoury of inspection techniques used for monitoring the
structural integrity of pipes, pipelines and pipework. Pi, with support from TWI, is at the forefront in
developing long range ultrasonic technology for new applications, vital in the maintenance of
infrastructure of oil and gas supplies, petrochemical plant, power generation and transportation.
66