TPi July 2015

products & developments

Pushing the limits of EDM inspection Scan Systems, a USA-based company in the OCTG industry, offers “out-of- the-box” on-location custom flaws and artificial reference indicators to create test standards for calibration. The company has developed innovative detection technology over the years that has helped to overcome a number of challenging industry obstacles.

EMI inspection machines have traditionally relied upon slip rings to transmit data from the longitudinal rotating assembly back to the computer for processing and interpretation. Worn out or dirty slip rings can cause signal loss, leading to less reliable data and unseen indication of potential flaws. Scan Systems applied some Silicon Valley-style technology to the EMI process and has incorporated wireless capabilities into its M-Series EMI inspection equipment, and removed slip rings from data transmission. This development utilises a Wi-Fi radio inside a rotating head spinning up to 250rpm, and overcomes the large amount of magnetic flux created by the surrounding large electromagnets. This benchmark in the industry allows for improved data accuracy and elimination of significant data errors, and because the data is digitised immediately at the sensor, any signal noise from outside interference is non-existent. “Your Internet went wireless years ago. It’s about time that EMI inspection equipment followed suit,” said Matt Rutledge, general manager/VP of Scan Systems. Scan Systems’ ESP upgrade to its M-Series line is the first EMI inspection technology to use hall elements in the longitudinal sensors, which enable detection and repeatability on flaws up to 30° off the axis on the OD surface and 20° off axis ID surface (industry standard is 7° to 10° off axis). Additionally, by utilising hall elements, the number of sensors can increase from 16 to 64 channels of data for better resolution and ability to detect much smaller flaws than the limitations of traditional PC coils. Scan Systems claims to be the first in the world to bring the ability to detect oblique flaws to EMI inspection. Also, because of the use of hall elements and the proprietary

The Pitco M-Series from Scan Systems

Digi-Pro ® processing software, if the operator is set to detect at 30°, he will pick up flaws between 0° and 30°, making for a more accurate and precise pass. Scan Systems has developed an EMI system that can report the linear location of a longitudinal flaw, the circumferential location, and whether it is on the ID or OD surface of the pipe. Historically, EMI inspection equipment was limited to reporting the linear location of a potential flaw. Though a few manufacturers would discriminate between ID and OD indications, the reliability of the methods utilised made the reporting less than accurate. Through significant innovations made in sensor technology, data collection methods and sophisticated software algorithms, Scan Systems’ latest ESP upgrade to the Pitco™ M-Series EMI inspection now provides the inspector with a level of accuracy unseen in EMI inspection of OCTG material. This advancement provides the circumferential location and can report on multiple flaws on the same plane and ID/OD location in degrees of probability, saving valuable time during the prove-up process. One of the toughest tasks for an EMI unit operator can be interpreting and locating the signal from a pipe flaw. Having an alternative view of the data can be beneficial in determining a pipe’s condition. Scan Systems developed a display that not only makes it easy to

illustrate where pipe flaws are located but also provides additional information on the characteristics of the flaw. Many OCTG MFL equipment manu- facturers claim their machines detect flaws on 0.545" (13.84mm) walls and greater during the inspection process, but often these claims ignore a key component of a quality inspection – repeatability. This refers to equipment’s hardware and software capabilities to identify the signal given by an imperfection or artificial reference indicator and report those imperfections at a similar amplitude consistently and repeatedly. API 5CT specifications require a minimum of 20 per cent repeatability on all inspection runs. Using advanced signal processing algorithms combined with proprietary sensors and cutting- edge signal detection hardware, Scan Systems’ Pitco M-Series with ESP upgrade has dramatically improved the ability to separate a flaw’s signal from the background noise offering the best S:N ratio on any given pipe. Scan Systems’ Pitco M-Series with ESP upgrade can reliably detect and repeat on N5 ID notches up to 0.545" (13.84mm) wall thickness and N10 ID notches up to 0.625" (15.875mm) walls.

Scan Systems Corp – USA mattr@scansystems.com www.scansystems.com

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Tube Products International July 2015

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