GF Piping Systems and Sonomatic have partnered to elevate HDPE weld inspection in Australia.
This collaboration pairs Sonomatic’s expertise in advanced ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques with GF’s industry-leading HDPE piping solutions, ensuring weld integrity and reliability for critical infrastructure projects.
Combined capabilities
Ensuring the structural integrity of HDPE welds is crucial to maintaining pipeline performance and longevity. Unlike steel welds, HDPE welds exhibit unique defect characteristics, necessitating specialised inspection techniques to assess their quality accurately.
Sonomatic provides industry-leading inspection solutions utilising Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) and Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) to assess HDPE welds. These methods allow for precise detection of internal fusion joint defects in butt welds and coupler joints, ensuring compliance with acceptance criteria and fitness for service.
GF Piping Systems had previously implemented TOFD for HDPE weld inspections, demonstrating its effectiveness in identifying potential defects. Through this partnership, Sonomatic enhances and expands the capability, integrating its expertise to further improve the accuracy and efficiency of inspections. Currently, Sonomatic has successfully deployed TOFD for inspecting HDPE butt welds, and as part of the collaboration with GF, will extend its services to include PAUT inspections, enhancing the overall assessment of HDPE weld quality.
The inspection process is tailored to accommodate HDPE piping with wall thicknesses from six millimetres and diameters from six inches and upwards.
By combining Sonomatic’s cutting-edge NDT technology with GF’s industry expertise, this partnership ensures that HDPE piping systems meet the highest levels of safety and performance.
For more information, visit the Sonomatic and GF Piping Systems websites.