Automated Ultrasonic Inspection for Pipeline Girth Welds

Sebastien Rigault – PipeWizard - Product Mgr.

Bob Peck – EMEA – NDT Business Development Mgr.

Pipeline Girth Weld Inspection:

In the last several years Automated Ultrasonic

Inspection ( AUT) , has begun to really
replace traditional X-Ray crawler radiography.
AUT phased-array vs. radiography

Radiography has significant limitations compared to AUT:

- Poor detection of Planar Defects in some circumstances.

- Accuracy of vertical defect sizing.
- Safety Issues.
- Environmental Concerns.
Girth Weld Inspections: Onshore / Offshore
Codes governing pipeline AUT inspection
ASTM E 1961 API 1104 DNV-OS-F101
Code Compliance:
In 1998, the ASTM published the E-1961-98 code (reapproved in 2003),
which covers key elements of AUT of girth welds - zone discrimination,
rapid data interpretation, specialized calibration blocks, and
configuration procedures.

The E-1961 code is designed for ECA. Similarly, in 1999, the American
Petroleum Institute (API) published the 19th edition of Standard 1104,
which covers mechanized ultrasonic testing and radiography of girth
welds.

PipeWIZARD allows inspections to comply with the ASTM E-1961 code,

and by inference, with the API 1104 standard. It also allows compliance
with the DNV-OS-F101 standard, the offshore AUT code.

Company specifications may exceed the codes, typically by asking

for improved sizing or better resolution.
AUT - Basic Ultrasonic Phased-array principles

Electronic focusing at different

Wedge angles without moving the probe
Automatic welding > narrow bevel

Weld
 AUT - Zone discrimination technique
Receiver
Calibration Inspection
Emitter

Zones

Cap
F5
F4
F3
F2
F1
HP
LCP
Root

Phased-array adjustments : F1 F2 F3 F4 F5

- Adjustment of emitter and receiver to hit the zone

- Adjustment of beam width to cover the height of the zone
- Adjustment of overlap in next zone
 Zone discrimination technique: GOOD
position to the centre line of the weld
Receiver
Calibration Inspection
Emitter

Zones

Cap
F5
F4
F3
F2
F1
HP
LCP
Root

F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
3mm 3mm 3mm 3mm 3mm
- The beams cross each others properly and hit the expected zone.
- A flaw will generate an echo which amplitude will be proportional to its
size.
Zone discrimination technique : BAD
position to the centre line of the weld
Receiver
Calibration Inspection
Emitter

Zones

Cap
F5
F4
F3
F2
F1
HP
LCP
Root

- Position of the crossing points of the UT beams are

not anymore on the fusion face. F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
3mm 3mm 3mm 3mm 3mm
-Any indication located on the fusion face will be
missed
- Or the amplitude will drop significantly
underestimating the flaw size and giving a wrong
depth
PipeWIZARD V4 - Software
User-friendly advanced software
 Twin-gate strip chart : amplitude and position
PipeWIZARD V4 - Software
User-friendly advanced software
 Twin-gate strip chart : amplitude and position

A<5%

A<20%

40%<A

20%<A<40%

0% FSH
100% FSH
Strip-chart layout
Scan output of a weld Scan output of a weld
without indication with indications

The weld is accepted or rejected according to the acceptance criteria

AUT phased-array vs. AUT multiprobe

Phased-array scanner

Old multiprobe scanner

PipeWIZARD scanner
PipeWIZARD V4
Built upon the proven PipeWIZARD®, the PipeWIZARD V4 system offers a highly
reliable solution for onshore and offshore inspections in harsh environments.

PWZ-V2 PWZ-V4
PipeWIZARD V4
Reliability
FocusLT 64:128 rackmount housing (IP64)

Strong field experience :

> more than 200 units in the field
> more than 3 million welds inspected
> hundreds operators trained on PipeWIZARD

Designed for harsh environments :

Middle-East deserts, Brazil forests, Siberian
colds, salty-air offshore laybarges, etc.
( IP 66 Scanner Head)

Umbilical cable has been redesigned and

field tested for more than 3 years.
PipeWIZARD instrumentation
 Improved defect length sizing

Laterally focused arrays

Reflector size used for this example is of 3mm

Note : optional probes, Non focused probe Focused probe

std probes are non-focused.
PipeWIZARD V4
User-friendly advanced software

Easy setup creation:

software designed with automatic features
for fast and accurate setup creation
 PipeWIZARD V4
User-friendly advanced software

- Sectorial and linear scan capabilities

- More data information for better interpretation

- Weld overlay display

- Tip-diffraction technique

- Data merged to get a top view and side view of

the weld

Root reflector Cap reflector

PipeWIZARD V4
User-friendly advanced software
Fast calibration verification and adjustments
for each channel (gain, signal position in gate),
TOFD channel and encoder resolution.
PipeWIZARD V4
User-friendly advanced software
Easy interpretation:
Many tools available for fast and accurate analysis
PipeWIZARD V4
User-friendly advanced software

Easy reporting: detailed and clear automatic reports

PipeWIZARD V4
High accuracy in defect sizing
All inspection projects with phased-array PipeWIZARD systems have demonstrated
an accuracy between 0.5mm (20 mil) and 1mm (40 mil) when sizing the height of defects
PipeWIZARD V4
Short AUT inspection cycle time for high production rates
Typical operation (depends on operators, type of weld, location, environment, etc):

- Water quenching of the weld (if necessary – offshore)  20s to 60s

- Position inspection band on pipe  50s
- Position scanner on band  20s
- Positioning scanner for inspection start  5s
- Scanning the weld (depending on pipe diameter)  20s to 120s
- Analysis and defect marking  done during scanning and 30s after
- Removing the scanner and place it on calibration block  20s
- Removing inspection band  10s
- Calibration every weld (offshore) or every 10 welds (typical onshore): during band removing and/or
water quenching of next weld.

Total : from 2min to 5min

PipeWIZARD key points
 Highly reliable, compact and modular.

 Over 200 systems in use, and over 3 Million Welds inspected to date.

 Sectorial and linear scan available in addition to standard strip-charts and TOFD

 High accuracy in defect height sizing: between 0.5mm (20 mil) and 1.0mm (40 mil)

 Advanced capabilities for special configurations (special pipe material, very thick pipe,
pipe with wall-thickness variations)

 The PipeWIZARD phased-array system has been qualified for many of

the major pipeline projects around the world in the last 10 years, and is
already pre-qualified by many companies
Olympus Worldwide Support
> Fast spare parts supply and equipment calibration

 India (Blue Star)

 China
 Middle-East (Abu Dhabi)
 Australia
 Singapore
 Korea
 Japan
 Europe (UK, France, Italy & Germany)
 Canada
 USA
 Brazil
 Mexico
 PipeWIZARD V4
advanced AUT inspections

Questions ?