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

Electronic focusing at different

Wedge angles without moving the probe

Weld

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
Weld inspection with portable ultrasonic
phased-array instrument: OmniScan

PA Typical
display
ASCAN
SSCAN
CSCCAN
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 • CNOOC

• Shell • Sinopec
• Chevron • Saudi Aramco
• PetroChina • Petrobras
• Total • Eni
• BP • Kuwait Oil Company

and more…
 Codes governing pipeline AUT inspection

ASTM E 1961 API 1104 DNV-OS-F101

 Zone discrimination technique
Receiver

Emitter

Zones

Cap
F5
F4
F3
F2
F1
HP
LCP
Root

Description:
- The weld is separated in zones
- Emitter and receiver hit each zones
- Beam size is adjusted to maintain overlap between zones
- 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
 Dual Matrix Array Capabilities
• 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
VALIDATION STUDY
 Validation block description

• Carbon steel pipe with Inconed 625 cladding

• Inconel 625 weld
• Outside diameter: 30 in

39
mm

INCONEL
40
CS 625 CS
19 mm
mm
INCONEL 625 CLADDING 3 mm
 Reference defects description

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
 Equipment description

Dual Matrix Array : 2 x (7x4)

elements: @2.25Mhz

OmniScan: MX2

Phased Array
Module : PA2 32-128
PR

TomoView (2.10R12)
Software PROBE: 2.25DM7X4PM-19X12-A17-P-2.5-
(Not mandatory, DMA could be Set-up Builder OM:
used with OmniScan only, import Software 1.0R5 (U8331715) WEDGE: SA17-DN55L0-
.law file required) (Mandatory to IHC
(U8831948)
compute focal laws)
 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

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
Detection of reference defects in the weld volume

Focal Depth = 2 mm
Gain = 50 dB
HOLE
¼T Optimum angle = 75°

Focal Depth = 20
mm
Gain = 45 dB

HOLE Optimum angle = 59°

½T

Focal Depth = 20
mm
Gain = 45 dB

HOLE
¾T Optimum angle = 54°
Detection of reference surface notch at the toe
position

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 center
of the weld

CENTERLINE
NOTCH

Focal Depth = 2
mm

Optimum angle = 76°

 About surface breaking flaws

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

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
Inspection scan on production weld.
 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 ?