51313-02542-Using Permanently Installed Ultrasound Monitoring to Maximize the Lifetime of a Pipeline

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Product Number: 51313-02542-SG

ISBN: 02542 2013 CP

Author: Oystein Baltzersen

Publication Date: 2013

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Manual ultrasound inspection is the most common way to measure pipeline wall thickness quantitatively. By using permanently installed UT sensors and automated acquisition/processing it is possible to improve the accuracy/resolution which can be achieved significantly compared to using manual UT. The main reason for this improved performance is that that variation due to the operator and uncertainty in exact probe placement are removed by using an automated system.
A new non-intrusive ultrasound based system has been developed for wall loss monitoring applications and a pilot series of this system has been installed on a 24” pipeline. The pipeline is located on land and has operating conditions which can give wall loss rates of several mm per year. It is a significant challenge to operate and maintain these pipelines effectively and the operator has long experience with manual UT to provide decision aiding information for such activities.
In early 2011 a pilot series consisting of 26 sensor rings each with 12 UT transducers distributed evenly in O’clock positions around the pipe were installed in 13 monitoring locations along one of these pipelines. A fully automated system is used to transfer the measurement data from the field process the data and to present the information for the end user.
The processing system produces wall loss trend measurements in O’clock position from each of the monitoring locations. The monitoring locations are distributed along the pipeline and were selected based on knowledge about the wall loss mechanisms which this particular pipeline has.
The experience after 4 months of monitoring with this systems is very good. The instrumentation has given consistent readings with very fine resolution over the full monitoring period and evaluation of the data gives a clear and consistent input to aid in planning of future pipeline maintenance activities.