Over the last decade, commercialization of Guided Wave Ultrasonic Testing (also
referred to as Long Range UT) has provided industry with a powerful new technique for
ascertaining the integrity of piping systems. The major advantage of the technique is it's
capability to screen inaccessible piping over long distances from a single exposed location.
The information developed allows the user to identify the locations in a pipe that have suffered
potentially injurious corrosion and gain an understanding of the significance of the damage.
Guided Wave Ultrasonic Testing (GWUT) provides this and other advantages when
compared to more conventional non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques. As with all NDT
techniques, though, GWUT has limitations that must be kept in mind by the user to properly
understand and utilize the results. This paper will discuss these advantages and limitations to
assist the user in utilizing this impottant inspection technology.