TPi April 2008

Equipment Pipel ine Inspect ion

Gyroscopic pipeline mapping tool

for As Laid surveys, as well as providing the ability to identify and pinpoint belly XYZ co-ordinates and areas of negative gradient, whilst surveying existing pipelines. PipeTrack also provides health and safety benefits, especially in the reduction of man entry surveys.

It can also be used in busy locations, under housing, gardens, factories and roads, often negating the need for traffic management systems. The unit has interchangeable wheel sets, enabling it to be used with any size pipeline from 50mm diameter to the largest of man entry structures. Since the introduction of the new mapping tool at the ‘No Dig Live’ event at Stoneleigh 2006, the applications and demand for the system have been steadily increasing.

Infotec, with nearly thirty years’ experience gained in the field of underground surveying and mapping, has launched the PipeTrack mapping tool. Originally developed in the Netherlands to map newly constructed HDD bores, and designed with versatility in mind, PipeTrack is a totally self-contained gyroscopic mapping tool that accurately provides 3D positional detail of virtually any pipe, duct or culvert. There is no requirement for surface tracing, which means it is unaffected by depth, material or external interference.

Infotec – UK enquiries@infotec1.net www.infotec1.net

Ultrasonic inspection of large diameter pipes with longitudinal weld Karl Deutsch, Germany, is a specialist in the field of non-destructive testing. The company’s products include testing systems for the inspection of longitudinally welded, large-diameter pipes, and ultrasonic testing systems for the inspection of ERW-welded pipes, such as those shipped in 2004 to Baosteel in Shanghai, China. Non-destructive testing is an integral part of the manufacture of large- diameter pipes, if they are intended for the transport of gas or oil. Karl Deutsch produces a set of three systems for such testing. The first system monitors welding quality at an early stage of production, using 18 probes. The second testing system, with 30 probes, allows for the final inspection, which is relevant for the user of the pipes. The third system is responsible for the pipe ends, which are later joined by circumferential welds during pipeline construction, as the pipe ends are also safety-relevant. The test results are recorded for each pipe and are archived for later retrieval. The systems are designed as a testing portal. Such design allows for a high throughput, with weld testing speed of up to 1m/s. As the length of the testing mechanics must be larger than the pipes to be tested, the systems’ total length is approximately 35m.

The accuracy of the vertical and horizontal alignment make it is suitable

Girth weld pipeline inspection system GE Inspection Technologies, a business unit of GE Enterprise Solutions, has announced the release of Weldstar, a complete, automated ultrasonic girth weld inspection system for oil and gas transmission pipelines. Weldstar provides gains in productivity and probability of detection, without the hazards associated with ionising radiation, when compared with traditional film-based radiographic non-destructive testing.

Weldstar incorporates automated tools to set up, conduct and report a weld inspection. With the system’s ability to accurately size and locate a weld defect, pipeline contractors can implement engineering

methods to assess the strength of a weld, saving potential rework costs that could ultimately affect the weld’s integrity. The product uses ultrasonic technology (conventional and phased array), as opposed to radiography, making inspection possible immediately following the welding process. This provides the operator with near real-time process control. Features include scanner mounted ultrasonics to provide immunity to electromagnetic noise generated from welding and induction heating equipment; modular design configured as a hybrid system with 16 conventional and 64:128 phased array channels to provide inspection flexibility and built-in redundancy; robust packaging validated through severe shock, vibration and thermal loading with quick-change umbilical and other mission critical components. An advanced setup wizard allows rapid job planning, including automated calibration block design and specification. Plus Weld data management software seamlessly and automatically provides weld quality tracking and trending reports for review by quality management personnel. Built in GPS automatically tags the inspection data of each weld with its geographic location, providing audit information to ensure every weld is properly inspected. GE’s Weldstar girth weld inspection S S system

Karl Deutsch – Germany info@karldeutsch.de www.karldeutsch.de

GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies – USA www.ge.com/inspectiontechnologies

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Tube Products International April 2008

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