Although ultrasound is well-established for weld-testing, pipeline inspections pose particular challenges.

The PipeWIZARD

The PipeWIZARD is Olympus NDT’s phased array (PA) automated ultrasonic testing (AUT) system for pipeline girth-weld inspection, suitable for both onshore and offshore projects.

With more than 150 PipeWIZARDs operating worldwide, Olympus NDT has much experience with PA AUT for pipeline inspection. Based on this field experience and feedback from customers, the PipeWIZARD has been redesigned for reliable operation in the harshest environments. The current version – V4 – is the most powerful PA AUT system on the market.

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Systems are in use around the world, including in China, Brazil, Canada, Russia and Australia.

There are hundreds of trained operators worldwide, and this number is steadily increasing.

The V4 PA AUT system has been field tested in temperatures ranging from -40 degrees Celsius in Siberia, to 50 degrees Celsius in the Middle East. Normally, water is used as the couplant, but in environments where it is so cold that water would freeze, methanol is used.

The PipeWIZARD is suitable for:

  • Many types of weld profile including J-bevel, V-bevel, double V, X, etc.;
  • Pipe wall thicknesses from 6mm to more than 35 mm;
  • Pipe diameters from 6 inches to >56 inches (options are available for smaller pipes down to 4.5inches in diameter); and,
  • Many materials including carbon steel, inconel, cladded and seamless pipes.

In the zone

The PipeWIZARD technique is based on zone discrimination. The weld is divided into zones, each one approximately the height of a welding pass. Each zone is inspected with a tailored ultrasonic beam. A major benefit of PA is that only two PA probes are required to produce all these beams. Typically, the two PA probes can replace more than two dozen conventional transducers. PA is also often used in conjunction with the time-of-flight diffraction.

Unlike radiography, PA AUT allows use of engineering acceptance criteria, with measurement of both the depth and height of indications. This helps reduce the rejection and repair rate. It has been shown that AUT has a high probability of detection compared with other non-destructive testing methods.

Optional new PA probes have been developed for the PipeWIZARD to improve sizing of the length of defects.

Linear PA probes can only be focused electronically in the active plane of the probe. The new probes have curved elements that mechanically focus the beam in the passive plane. These probes are used with wedges curved to fit the pipe diameter. With a non-focused beam, due to beam spread, the circumferential length of the defect may be oversized, resulting in unnecessary, expensive and time-consuming rejections and repairs.

PipeWIZARD allows inspections to comply with ASTM-E-1961, API 1104 and the offshore code DNV-OS-F101. Typical test times for each weld range from two to six minutes depending on the type of weld, pipe diameter and environment.