Improved Inspection of CRA-Clad Pipeline Girth Welds with

the Use of Accessible Advanced Ultrasonic Phased-Array

Technology

André Lamarre, Olympus Scientific Solutions Americas

11th European Conference on Non-Destructive Testing,

Prague, October 2014

Contents

• Ultrasonic phased-array inspection for pipeline girth

weld inspection

• CRA-clad pipes inspection issues and solution

• Validation study

• Automated solutions

• Summary

ULTRASONIC PHASED-ARRAY FOR

PIPELINE GIRTH WELD INSPECTION

Phased-array basics principles

Wedge

Weld

Electronic focusing at different

angles without moving the probe

Note the rebound on the ID

Phased-array advantages

• Offers all the benefits of Ultrasonics

with the following advantages

– Increased coverage and

detection capabilities through

multi-angle, electronic rastering

and beam control

– Imaging and recordable data in

manageable file sizes viewable

by all parties as needed.

– Reduced mechanics and

difficulties over multi-probe

techniques

PA Typical

display

ASCAN

SSCAN

CSCCAN

Weld inspection with portable ultrasonic

phased-array instrument: OmniScan

Automated girth weld inspection system:

PipeWIZARD

Strong field experience : > more than 180 units in the field > 3 million welds inspected > hundreds operators trained on PipeWIZARD

Advantages of AUT phased-array vs.

radiography

High probability of detection

- Accurate sizing of defects height > less repair using

ECA(Engineering Critical Assesment)

- No radiation > no hazard > no licensing

- No chemical > no waste material

- Real-time analysis for instant evaluation and welding

adjustment

- Setup and inspection reports in electronic format

AUT phased-array vs. radiography

PipeWIZARD qualification

All major oil and gas companies already qualified the

PipeWIZARD system for one of their pipeline construction

projects :

• Exxon Mobil

• Shell

• Chevron

• PetroChina

• Total

• BP

• CNOOC

• Sinopec

• Saudi Aramco

• Petrobras

• Eni

• Kuwait Oil Company

and more…

Codes governing pipeline AUT inspection

ASTM E 1961 API 1104 DNV-OS-F101

Emitter

Receiver

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

Zones

Description:

Zone discrimination technique

- The weld is separated in zones

- Emitter and receiver hit each zones

- Beam size is adjusted to maintain overlap between zones

Cap

HP LCP Root

- Results presented in a strip chart imaging

CRA-CLAD PIPES INSPECTION

ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS

Main problems for UT inspection of clad pipes

• Zone discrimination cannot be used on clad pipes

• Skipping on the ID of the pipe is hazardeous or

impossible because of the clad layer

• Anisotropic structure and grain size of the weld is

difficult to penetrate with transverse waves(SW)

Solution description

Acoustic solution who can work on the

first leg (without skipping on the ID of

pipe)

Low-frequency and L-wave

configuration to penetrate the weld

with sufficient energy

Capable to generate surface waves

and high-angles to inspect upper part

of the weld

Easy set-up creation

Off-the-shelf instrumentation

Dual matrix array description

• 7X4 element configuration utilizing 28 elements for the transmitter and 28 elements

for the receiver with an aperture of 19 x 12 mm

• Frequency: 2.25 MHZ mounted on LW wedges

• Modeling showed it can perform full weld coverage

• DMA allows to create a sector scan

(such as 30 to 70 LW with high-

resolution)

• Can adjust the focusing at differents

depth in the symetric plane

• Can adjust the beam size by selecting

different aperture sizes

• Can perform skew angles looking for

oblique defects

Plus the known advantages of the TRL

conventional:

• No wedge echos (allowing the use of

main gain)

• No dead zones

Dual Matrix Array Capabilities

VALIDATION STUDY

CS

INCONEL 625 CLADDING

INCONEL

625

39

mm

40

mm

3 mm

CS 19

mm

Validation block description

• Carbon steel pipe with Inconed 625 cladding

• Inconel 625 weld

• Outside diameter: 30 in

Toe notch: Height = 2 mm; Length 10 = mm

Centerline notch: Height = 2 mm; Length 10 = mm

Root notch: Height = 2 mm; Length 10 = mm

Side Drilled Hole 1: Depth 1/4T = mm; Diameter = 2.5mm

Side Drilled Hole 2: Depth 1/2T = mm; Diameter = 2.5mm

Side Drilled Hole 3: Depth 3/4T = mm; Diameter = 2.5mm

Reference defects description

Set-up Builder Software 1.0R5

(Mandatory to

compute focal laws)

OmniScan: MX2

TomoView (2.10R12)

Software (Not mandatory, DMA could be

used with OmniScan only, import

.law file required)

Phased Array

Module : PA2 32-128

PR

Dual Matrix Array : 2 x (7x4)

elements: @2.25Mhz

WEDGE: SA17-DN55L0-

IHC

(U8831948)

PROBE: 2.25DM7X4PM-19X12-A17-P-2.5-

OM:

(U8331715)

Equipment description

L wave angle from 35° to 76°

Full Coverage with correct SNR detection required 2

groups

Group 1 : Focal Depth = 2mm , Gain = 50dB

Group 2 : Focal Depth = 20 mm , Gain = 45 dB

Weld inspection scenario

• DMA probe used to assure full coverage with 2 Sectors Scan

• Each sector covers a range of angles from 35 to 76 deg LW

• One sector focused at 2 mm depth

• The other sector focused at 20 mm

• Gain is adjusted to maintain noise level below 20% for all angles

• Inspection is done manually without scanner

Focal Depth = 2 mm

Gain = 50 dB HOLE

¼ T

HOLE

½ T

HOLE

¾ T

Focal Depth = 20

mm

Gain = 45 dB

Focal Depth = 20

mm

Gain = 45 dB

Optimum angle = 75°

Optimum angle = 59°

Optimum angle = 54°

Detection of reference defects in the weld volume

TOE NOTCH

(depth ~ 2mm)

Focal Depth = 2 mm

(Gain = 50 dB) Focal Depth = 20

mm

(Gain = 45 dB)

Optimum angle = 65°

Detection of reference surface notch at the toe

position

CENTERLINE

NOTCH

Optimum angle = 76°

Focal Depth = 2

mm

Detection of reference surface notch at the center

of the weld

• This probe wedge combination can detect a surface EDM notch up to 50mm from the wedge

face.

About surface breaking flaws

Conclusions of the tests

• A 2.25 MHz DMA probe paired with the OmniScan MX2 32:128 PR

can be advantageous for the inspection of CRA-clad pipelines with

large diameters.

• Full coverage of the dissimilar weld was ensured.

• SDHs located in the volume and notches located on the ID and OD

can be detected using an inspection scenario of two groups

steering the beams from 30 to 76 LW, focusing at 2 and 25 mm.

AUTOMATED SOLUTIONS

Integration to automated solutions

• The next step is to integrate

this solution with scanner to

perfrom high-productivity

inspection of pipes

• Semi-automated solution with

the Chain Scanner

• Full automated solution with

the PipeWizard

Semi-automated solution: Chain scanner

Calibration verification scan on 5% ID notch.

Inspection scan on production weld.

Chain scanner description:

Manual encoded scanner

One or 2 axis

Pipe range OD: 1.75 in to 38 in

CRA-clad pipe solution already

integrated

Automated solution with the PipeWizard

• Integration in process for high-

productivity inspection

• PipeWizard has all the tools to

assure succesful integration

– Sector scan and weld imaging

– Set-up creator

• Completion target date:

December 2014

Summary

• A 2.25 MHz DMA probe paired with the OmniScan MX2 32:128 PR

can be advantageous for the inspection of CRA-clad pipelines with

large diameters

• Full coverage of the weld is ensured and all referenced defects are

found

• Some players of the industry have already adopted this solution

integrated with the off-the-shelf instrumentation and software of the

OmniScan

• Olympus is working to integrate these tools to the PipeWizard to

provide a fully automated CRA-clad pipeline solution

Thank you

Questions ?