16th World Conference on NDT - 2004 - Montreal (Canada)

THE APPLICATION OF LONG RANGE GUIDED ULTRASONICS FOR THE

INSPECTION OF RISER PIPES
J. McGregor, B. Nooteboom, N. Ivory
PTAS-ITS Lot 1 and 2 Tapak Perindustrian Pekan Belait,
Jalan Setia Di-Raja, Kuala Belait, Brunei Darussalam

Abstract: Corrosion and other defects that reduce the cross-sectional area of pipes cause major
problems in the oil, chemical and the other industries. Most standard NDT methods measure the
remaining pipe wall accurately, but over a small area so it is almost always uneconomic to inspect
More info about this article: https://www.ndt.net/?id=2200

100% of the pipe. In practice a pragmatic approach is usually adopted where the wall thickness at
a number of points is measured and this information is used to determine the fitness for purpose
of the pipe. However, this approach generally requires unrestricted access to the outer surface of
the pipe and this is not possible, if the pipe is insulated, has protective coatings or is buried. This
means that even external corrosion cannot be seen so that accurate measurements of the
remaining wall can be made at the correct location on the pipe. Ultrasonic guided wave inspection
using the Wavemaker Pipe Screening System (WPSS) offers a novel solution to many such
inspection problems. Guided waves can be excited from easy to access locations on the pipe and
will propagate many metres along the pipe, the returning echoes indicating the presence of
corrosion or other pipe features. PTAS-ITS now use the WPSS routinely in Brunei and Indonesia;
this paper discusses our operational experience in proving the technique to our client and presents
recent inspection results on riser pipes inspected in Indonesia.

Introduction:This paper discusses our operational experience in proving the technique to our
client and presents recent inspection results on riser pipes inspected in Indonesia.

Slide Guided Ultrasonics makes the Wavemaker

1 Long Range Guided pipe screening system. It is important to
Ultrasonics understand from the beginning that this is a
screening tool. It is not a magic solution to
The application of
long range guided
all inspection problems. What is does do is
ultrasonic waves for provide a method of rapidly determining
the inspection of riser
pipes
where there are problem areas on a pipe.

Wavemaker Pipe Screening System

Slide
What is Long Range UT (LRUT)? What is long range UT : Instead of scanning
2 the region directly below or near to the
In LRUT an array of ultrasonic
transducer elements are fitted around
transducers, guided waves travel down the
the pipe. Instead of scanning the region
directly below or near to the
transducers, guided waves travel down
the length of the pipe. This allows 10's
length of the pipe. This allows 10's of
meters to be inspected from a single
of meters to be inspected from a single
location. In this picture you can see a
ring attached to a section of EPDM
wrapped 30 “ diameter pipe. From
this single location low frequency
guided waves are transmitted in both
directions along the length of the pipe
location. In this picture you can see a ring
screening difficult to access areas
remotely.
attached to a section of EPDM wrapped
pipe. From this single location waves are
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 2 sent in each direction.
Slide To actually perform the test, a ring of
3 How Does It Work? transducers is placed around the pipe. No
• To perform the test, a ring is placed
around the pipe. No couplant is needed as
couplant is needed. The transducers dry
couple on to the pipe. The surface of the
the transducers dry couple on to the pipe.
• The surface of the pipe does not usually
need to be prepared. Any loose flaking
paint or corrosion needs to be scraped off

•
of the pipe, but otherwise, no preparation
is necessary.
The technique works by looking for
pipe usually does not need to be prepared.
Any loose flaking paint or corrosion needs
reflections from changes in cross section
of the pipe. These reflections are
collected and analysed. Potential problem
areas are identified and can be
investigated using another technique to
determine area and severity. In this
picture the area of test is the straight
to be scraped off of the pipe, but otherwise,
piece of pipe after the bend under the
EPDM wrap
no preparation is necessary. In this picture
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
the area of test is the straight piece of pipe
after the bend under the EPDM wrap.
Page 3

Slide The inspection can be performed without

4 What Can It do? taking the pipe out of service. The entire
volume of the pipe is inspected. It does not
• Can be performed without taking the pipe out of service
• Can be performed at elevated temperatures up to 120°C sample at only spot locations, it is sensitive
• Can be performed under coatings, Ground, Concrete, Cladding, Bitumen,
Ethylene Propylene Diene Momomer (EPDM) etc to corrosion anywhere on the
• It is sensitive to corrosion anywhere on the circumference of the pipe
• It is equally sensitive to both internal and external corrosion
• The entire volume of the pipe is inspected (within the diagnostic length of a
circumference. It is equally sensitive to
test). Not only spot locations
• Pulse echo type operation provides information on feature position and
both internal and external corrosion. The
approximate size
• Sophisticated analysis aids interpretation of results
technique works by looking for reflections
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
from changes in cross section of the pipe.
Long ranges of pipe can be screened from a
Page 4

single location.

Slide Factors affecting the results:

The propagating guided waves reflect from
5 General Condition of Pipe
all changes in cross section. The reflections
Generally Corroded Pipe
from small amounts of corrosion appear as a
12.0

10.0

8.0

'noise' floor on the trace. For example in

Amp (mV)

6.0

4.0

the trace above, the pipe section on the left

2.0

0.0
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0
Distance (m)
Clean Pipe

The propagating guided waves reflect from all changes in cross section
is a clean pipe, but the section on the left is
no matter how small. The reflections from small amounts of corrosion
appear as a 'noise' floor on the trace. For example in the trace above,
the pipe section on the left is a clean pipe, but the section on the left is
generally corroded like the pipe shown on
generally corroded like the pipe shown on the bottom right.
the bottom right.
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 5

Slide Factors affecting the results: Factors affecting the results – Type of
6 Type of defect defect.
• More difficult • Easier
– Single isolated pit – A cluster of pits
– Smooth gradual defects – Sharp corrosion
– Axial cracks – Circumferential cracks
– Small pits in welds – Large cracks in welds

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 6
Slide Factors affecting the results:
The type of wrapping that surrounds the
7 Effect of Wrapping
pipe strongly affects the results. Bitumen
causes a very high amount of attentuation as
-F3 -F2 -F1 +F1
0.6

Amp (mV)
0.4

0.2

0.0
can be seen in the result above. The guided
wave can easily propagate in the non-
-20 -10 0 10 20
Distance (m)

Exposed side shows Strong attenuation is caused

little attenuation
by wrapping wrapped side. However, the wave quickly
Another factor that strongly affects the results is the type of wrapping that surrounds the pipe. Many wrappings can
cause some attenuation. Bitumen causes a very high amount of attenuation as can be seen in the result above.
The guided wave can easily propagate in the non-wrapped side on the left of trace shown above.
dies away in the bitumen wrapped section.
Usually only the first few meters of a
However, the wave quickly dies away in the bitumen wrapped section. In general, only the first few meters of a bitumen
wrapped section of pipe can be inspected. These first few meters are usually the most likely to corrode

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 7 bitumen wrapped section can be inspected.
These first few meters are usually the most
likely to corrode.

Slide
Typical Ranges The range that will be inspected in a single
8 (in each direction, using standard transducers)
test varies greatly depending on such items
• The range that can be inspected in a single test varies greatly depending on such
items as the condition of the pipe and any coatings that have been applied. The
list below shows some typical ranges that can be expected when the standard
transducer configuration is used.
as the condition of the pipe and any coatings
• Ideal conditions
– 80m (160 metres in total test length)
that have been applied. The slide above
shows some typical ranges that can be
• Typical 30 year old pipe with little internal or external corrosion
– 40m (80 metres in total test length)
• Typical 30 year old pipe with some general corrosion

expected when the standard transducer

– 20m (40 metres in total test length)
• Typical pipe wrapped in factory applied foam
– 15m (30 metres in total test length)
•

•
Heavily corroded pipe or pipe that is bitumen wrapped
– 5m (10 metres in total test length)
Six welds (Each direction)
configuration is used. If the low frequency
•
•
The first flange or the second bend or branch
Note: these ranges can be doubled by using low frequency transducers transducers are used, these ranges can
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 8 normally be doubled (or more).

Slide
What Are The Benefits? Access is not required to the area requiring
9 inspection, it has the ability to test many
• Access is not required to
the area requiring
inspection metres of the riser at one time. Usually no
• Ability to test metres of
pipe at a time surface preparation is required. Difficult to
• Usually no surface
preparation required
No access to
inspect areas such as splash zone or buried
• Difficult to inspect areas
such as insulated or
Area of test
sections of the riser can be inspected.
buried sections of pipe
can be screened for
defects

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 9

Slide
What Are The Limitations? LRUT can be best employed as a screening
10 tool that is used to identify trouble areas.
• Best employed as a
screening tool to
identify troubled areas
Once these trouble areas have been
• Does not give finite identified they can be targeted using other
sizes
• Cannot resolve small methods of examination. This allows for
pits
• Cannot differentiate
100 percent coverage at a fraction of the
between internal and price of many other methods.
external corrosion
8” Ring R2F8

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 10
Slide What was the job? This slide is typical of the working
11 conditions; this is in the tidal zone of a river
Ring position
estuary. For larger diameter pipes, an
Test
inflatable belt system is used. The system
area
allows for a light flexible application of the
technique to large diameter pipes. The
normal range of inflatable rings is from 6 to
24 inches in diameter. (Larger pipes can be
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 11 inspected, but on large pipes only large
corrosion patches can be found.)

Slide
Client Requirements The work was to be carried out in
12 conjunction with a maintenance programme
Our client, a major international oil producer, had a corrosion problem on a
gas riser resulting in an explosion.
The problem was related to external corrosion on the riser in the tidal zone on the risers. The risers were first tested by
interface.
Their requirement was to carry out non intrusive inspection on the risers
LRUT then only were the maintenance crew
without removing corrosion product, excavating or shutting down the line to
determine whether corrosion was present in the tidal area and give an able to disturb remaining surface coatings
estimate of its size.
The work was to be carried out in conjunction with a maintenance for repair purposes.
programme on the risers. The risers were first tested by LRUT to determine
the extent of corrosion present and only then were the maintenance crew able
to disturb remaining surface corrosion for repair purposes.

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 12

Slide Description of Work This slide shows another typical location of

13 The work scope consisted of carrying out Long Range UT on the worksite. The job entailed carrying out
13 off risers ranging from 6” to 30” diameter without
disrupting ongoing repair work or affecting production. LRUT on 13 risers from 6 to 30 inch
diameter in the splash and ground entrance
area.

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 13

Slide
The problems The Client was interested in detecting
14 corrosion equivalent to 5 % change in cross
Site : Location of work was in a tidal range of a river delta.
Risers : Ranged in size from 6” to 30” diameter sectional area.
Access : Access was restricted on some risers to locations that did not
provide for the best test parameters.
Timing : Timing was restricted in some locations as the risers were
situated on the tidal flats.
Coatings : Riser coatings consisted of up to 12mm thick EPDM coating
and or epoxy polyproplyene covering the tidal zone area.
Proving : We had to prove to the clients satisfaction that the system
was capable of detecting the size and type of corrosion he was
interested in.
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 14
Slide Proving the system Our client was concerned that the guided
15 waves would not be able to penetrate the
Our client was concerned that EPDM
the guided waves would not be
able to penetrate the EPDM
coating to the area of interest,
coating
EPDM coating to the area of interest, which
which was the tidal zone of the
riser.
was the tidal zone of the riser. This area
This area could be up to 8
metres away from the start of could be up to 8 metres away from the start
the wrapping. We had to prove
to the client that the system had
the capability to detect a 5%
of the wrapping. We had to prove to the
loss of CSA defect as far away
as possible from the ring Concrete client that the system had the capability to
coating
location.
detect a 5% loss of CSA defect as far away
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 15 as possible from the ring location.

Slide
The Test Riser We were supplied with a redundant test
16 riser to prove the system to the client. We
A 20” diameter by 25.4mm thick test
riser was made available for proving the were able to introduce artificial defects into
technique.
This riser had 12metres of EPDM the riser at various locations.
coating on the pipe and 3.1metres of
epoxy fiberglass coating on the bend.
The object of the testing was to
determine if a 5% loss of cross sectional
area on the elbow could be reliably
detected through the coating from the
other end of the pipe.

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 16

Slide
The Defects 4 defects were introduced by grinding,
17 ranging from 2% to 9% change in CSA.
4 defects were introduced into the riser at a a variety of locations
1:100mm x 300mm x 11mm deep = 9% change in CSA
2:100mm x 300mm x 11mm deep = 9% change in CSA
3:50mm x 300mm x 11mm deep = 9% change in CSA
4:100mm x 100mm x 6mm deep = 2% change in CSA
Open pipe end,
300mm clear of Defect 1, 5m from Defect 2, 9.2m Defect 3 adjacent to Weld, 200mm
coating pipe end from pipe end weld from EPDM

Defect 4, 1.7metres
from weld
5.0 metres 4.2 metres 3.0 metres
3.0 metres

45 deg, 5d elbow
Polypropylene coated

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 17

Slide
Scanning the Riser The riser was scanned from a variety of
18 locations whilst the defects were being
Testing using standard frequency
transducers at 35mm spacing resulted Defect 4
in better than expected results. The
best results were obtained from a
frequency of approximately 26 to
introduced utilising both low frequency and
30kHz and an excitation signal of 8 to
10 cycles Hanning. This resulted in the
reliable detection of an artificial defect
standard probes. The testing was stopped
in the outside of the elbow 100mm
square by 6mm deep equating to a 2% when we were able to prove to the client
loss of cross sectional area, from a
location 13 metres away, through an
EPDM coating length of 11.5m and that we were able to consistently record
1.5m of Epoxy fibreglass. The next
slide shows the results achieved from
the location at defect 1 defect 4 located in the outside of the elbow
and equivalent to a change in CSA to 2%
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 18 through more than 11metres of EPDM
coating.
Slide Standard frequency scan This slide shows the results of one of the
19 final scans. The location of test is adjacent
to defect 1. All the other defects can be
clearly seen even defect 4 which is
Reverberations
equivalent to a 2% change in CSA and
defect 3 which is only 50mm to a weld.
Defect 3 can be
resolved Defect
Defect 2
4

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 19

Slide Close up of defect 3 and weld Defect 3 was introduced into the pipe
20 Defect 3 was introduced into the pipe adjacent to a weld (within 50mm)
adjacent to a weld (within 50mm) in order
in order to determine whether it could be detected. Using the higher
frequency transducers and a hanning tone burst, this defect is able to be
resolved. This slide shows the resolution of the system, as the defect can to determine whether it could be detected.
be detected, but the sizing is not as accurate as if the defect was further
away. This slide shows the resolution of the
system, as the defect can be resolved but the
Defect 3
Weld sizing is not as accurate as if the defect was
further away.

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 20

Slide
The test risers A risk analysis carried out by the client
21 revealed 13 risers, which required urgent
• A risk analysis carried out by the client revealed 13
risers which required urgent inspection. inspection.
• These risers ranged from 6” to 30” diameter, of
which 10 were found to have reportable corrosion
of above 10% loss of cross sectional area. One was
determined to have more than 50% loss of CSA.
• The following slides detail a selection of these tests.

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 21

Slide
8” riser location This riser was located offshore, in shallow
22 water.

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 22
Slide
8” riser details This section is included as a comparison
23 between a riser in good condition compared
• This riser was 8” diameter by 20mm thick. It to the following 1 in poor condition.
was located on an offshore installation in
shallow water.

•The coating consisted of EPDM wrap.

• No significant corrosion was detected within a

14m test range

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 23

Slide 8” riser report The scan shows clean pipe with no

24 significant corrosion present. The double
This scan shows clean
pipe with no significant
corrosion present. The
echos at positions 3 and 4 are due to the
double echos at positions
3 and 4 are due to the
difference in distance between the inside
difference in distance and outside radius of the swept bends from
between the inside and
outside radius of the the ring position.
swept bends from the
ring position.

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 24

Slide
6” riser location This slide shows the ring location and the
25 vertical section of the riser.

Coating
breakdown and
corrosion

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 25

Slide
6” riser details This riser was 6” diameter by 18mm thick.
26 It was located on an offshore installation.
• This riser was 6” diameter by 18mm thick. It was
located on an offshore installation in shallow water.
• The bitumen type coating was severely broken
The bitumen type coating was severely
down in the splash zone area. External corrosion
could be seen visually on this riser but due to the
broken down in the splash zone area.
heavy corrosion products the remaining thickness
could not be assessed.
Corrosion was detected up to 50% wall loss
• Corrosion was detected up to 50% wall loss within
a 10 metre test range. This test range was limited
within a 10 metre test range. This test range
by the extent and severity of the corrosion present. was limited by the extent and severity of the
corrosion present.
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 26
Slide 6” riser drawing Shows a drawing of the layout of the riser
27 with corrosion detected beyond the lower
• .
400mm 500mm
riser bend.
150mm
950mm
500mm

!
1100mm

Sea level 400mm

! ! !
2750mm Ring
Position

! S evere co rro s io n a b o v e 50 %
1200mm lo s s o f CS A

!
!! !
Med iu m c o rro s io n 20 % to 50 %
Sea bed
lo s s o f CS A

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 27

Slide
6” riser results This scan shows the extent of the corrosion.
28 There is lots of red and black together. It
This scan shows the
extent of the shows a lot of general corrosion, which was
corrosion. There is
lots of red and black backed up with manual UT carried out by a
together. It shows a
lot of general
diver. A good correlation was achieved
corrosion, This was between the results of the LRUT and the
backed up with
manual UT where manual scanning.
possible.

16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004

Page 28

Slide
30” riser location This slide shows another 30” riser location.
29 We are shooting towards the ground from
this ring location. It is typical of the
working conditions in this area and is
located at a river crossing and had a
combination of coatings, Bitumen where it
entered the ground and EPDM/Concrete
where it entered the water.
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 29

Slide
Conclusion Long range UT has proven to be a useful
30 tool in the inspection of offshore risers
Long range UT has proven to be a useful tool enabling the pipeline reliability engineers to
in the inspection of offshore risers, enabling
the pipeline reliability engineers to predict predict remaining lifespan and direct
remaining life span and direct maintenance maintenance costs, where appropriate,
costs, where appropriate, without the
requirement for costly pipeline shutdown and without the requirement for costly shutdown
pigging operations. or pigging operations.
16 WCNDT Canada Sept 2004
Page 33