If you think of the industrial age as a human being, pipelines are the equivalent of the human gut, playing a vital role in transportation in applications where a break or leak can cause a serious safety incident. How to effectively and quickly locate pipeline defects and prevent them before they occur is a major problem in the application of pipelines. In response to this problem, Zhongke Innovation has launched a series of NDT solutions for pipelines, relying on the precise detection and customised inspection methods of NDT equipment to address the industry's pain points.
Introduction to the content
1. The important role of pipelines in the industrial age
2. Defects that easily occur in the application of pipelines
3. Customized solutions by CK Innovation
(1) Ultrasonic phased array inspection solution for small diameter pipe ring weld seam
(2) Pipeline ring seam PAUT + TOFD inspection solution
(3) AUT automatic ultrasonic inspection solution
(4) Pipeline corrosion non-destructive testing solutions
(5) PE pipe phased-array inspection solutions
1. The important role of pipelines in the industrial age
Pipelines are devices used to transport gases, liquids or fluids with solid particles by coupling them with pipes, pipe couplings and valves. Pipes are used in a wide range of applications, mainly in water supply, drainage, heating, gas supply, long-distance transport of oil and gas, agricultural irrigation, hydraulic engineering and various industrial installations.
Pipes can be found everywhere, from everyday life to industrial construction, and are an essential and key part of current production life. The pipes used in industry are usually divided according to the size and material of the pipe diameter, taking small diameter pipes as an example, these pipes are mainly made of metal and are mostly used in thermal power plants, hydroelectric power plants and other applications, and are densely packed in use; while large diameter pipes used to transport oil and gas are mostly buried deep underground and made of more special materials.
With the rapid development of the industrial age, the use of pipelines has become more widespread, especially in urban construction, where the role of pipelines is crucial.
2. Defects that tend to occur in the application of pipes
In addition to high temperatures and humidity, pipes buried deep underground are subjected to varying degrees of heat and cold. Corrosion is a major problem in the use of pipes, while pipes used for long-distance transport also face possible defects in welds and leaks caused by poorly tightened rings.
Thermal power plants and hydropower plants, due to the special nature of their operations, require the entire plant to be shut down in the event of a pipeline rupture or leak, which not only results in huge economic losses, but also poses a safety hazard. In the petroleum and petrochemical industry, if a leak occurs in a fluid transmission pipeline, not only is the loss huge, but it can also pollute the environment and cause irreparable damage.
Therefore, regular inspection of pipelines in industrial applications is very important and how to carry out the inspection without affecting normal production operations is a major pain point of concern for the industry.
3. Zhongke Innovation's customised solutions
In response to the inspection challenges of different types of pipelines, Zhongke Innovation has introduced a series of customized solutions for pipeline NDT, which can effectively solve many types of problems such as pipeline ring weld inspection, pipeline corrosion inspection and pipeline defect detection of special materials (such as PE pipes). The customised solutions adopted by Zhongke Innovation are different for different inspection environments and inspection needs.
Ultrasonic phased array inspection of small diameter pipe girth welds
The small diameter pipe ring weld ultrasonic phased array inspection solution is mainly for the detection of defects in carbon steel and stainless steel small diameter pipe welds in thermal power plants, petrochemical plants and other applications. These small diameter pipes have a complex and densely packed inspection environment and therefore require high efficiency and accuracy.
Zhongke Innovation uses curved piezoelectric wafers in its inspection solutions, which allow the sound beam to be emitted in a non-active direction with an autofocus effect, thus reducing the scattering attenuation of multiple reflected waves on the underside of the workpiece and significantly improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the inspection.
Programme advantages
Inspection of ring welds with pipe diameters of 21 mm - 219 mm and wall thicknesses of 4 mm - 15 mm is possible;
Height of the sweeper (including encoder and wiring) less than 12mm, suitable for narrow areas;
The possibility of two sweeping modes, single-sided/single-sided and double-sided;
High detection accuracy, capable of detecting 0.5mm bore defects.
PAUT+TOFD inspection solution for pipeline annular seams
The PAUT+TOFD inspection solution for pipeline annular seam is mainly for fluid transmission pipelines in the petroleum and petrochemical industry. Zhongke Innovation adopts phased array+TOFD technology with customized sweeper for inspection, which can quickly and accurately inspect the weld seam in all aspects during the inspection process.
Solution advantages
PAUT+TOFD enables all-round inspection of pipeline welds;
Automatic crawling mechanism with more precise track positioning and controlled travel with stable coupling;
More intuitive software presentation, in line with current standards for all types of automated ultrasonic inspection;
For the inspection of special process workpieces, the phased-array focusing characteristics are used to quickly detect fine defect features, enabling timely imaging and locking of defect locations.
AUT fully automatic ultrasonic inspection solutions
The AUT fully automatic ultrasonic inspection solution is mainly used for the inspection of long-distance oil pipelines and large-diameter medium-thickness pipes in the petrochemical, marine and offshore oil platform sectors. This solution uses the "zone differentiation method", which means that the weld seam is divided into several vertical zones according to the wall thickness, bevel form and number of fillings, and the height of each zone is generally 1mm-3mm, and each zone is swept by an independent wafer.
Solution advantages
Highly integrated, the detection module and the travel mechanism are integrated, and only one optical fibre is needed for signal transmission;
Automatic sweeping, saving time and effort, effectively improving efficiency, and adjustable sweeping speed to meet the requirements of different testing situations;
The use of 1 part 2 pipeline upper and lower self-circulating water cooling system, can effectively guarantee the normal operation of the equipment in high temperature environment;
A-sweep, B-sweep, strip chart and TOFD grey-scale images can be displayed on the same screen with multiple displays and automatic playback.
Pipeline corrosion non-destructive testing solutions
Pipeline corrosion is the most common problem of pipelines in the application process, because defects and leaks caused by corrosion are the main cause of many accidents, Zhongke Innovation has introduced different solutions for the corrosion detection of fluid and liquid transmission pipelines in the petroleum and petrochemical industry:
Pipeline corrosion electromagnetic ultrasound remote monitoring and detection
This detection solution mainly adopts the combination of electromagnetic ultrasound and Internet of Things and wireless WIFI technology to monitor the corrosion of pipelines in service in real time.
The programme contains the following features:
The use of electromagnetic ultrasound technology, which allows detection without sanding and coupling agents;
The possibility of detecting materials containing oxidised skin and corrosion resistant paint;
The detection equipment is compact and portable, with many expandable channels and powerful features.
Pipeline electromagnetic wave-guided inspection system
In response to the customer's requirements for fast and accurate long distance pipeline corrosion detection, Zhongke Innovation uses electromagnetic guided wave technology to stimulate guided wave signal transmission over long distances in the pipeline by means of electromagnetic ultrasound excitation, thus meeting the needs of single long distance detection.
Features of the programme include:
Direct detection by electromagnetic ultrasound technology without the need for grinding and coupling agents;
Greater stability in flaw detection sensitivity;
Long guided wave propagation distance, low attenuation coefficient and high detection efficiency. Tests on airborne reinforcing steel can detect end echoes at 100 metres.
PE pipe phased array detection
PE pipe electrofusion welding detection programme
PE pipes are widely used in fluid transmission fields such as petrochemicals because of their high strength, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, non-toxicity and wear resistance. Due to long distance transportation, PE pipes are prone to defects in the welds, leading to safety problems.
Zhongke Innovation uses phased array technology combined with special sweepers for inspection, enabling CAD modelling of PE pipe electrofusion weld head structures for fast and intuitive defect identification.
Solution advantages
Fast detection, the array of wafers in the probe is excited by electronic scanning in a time-delayed manner, which is faster than mechanical sweeping of conventional probes;
High detection sensitivity, with the focus of the ultrasonic beam increasing the detection signal-to-noise ratio;
C-scan imaging display for high identification efficiency.
PE pipe hot melt welding detection solution
For the detection of PE pipe hot melt welds, Zhongke Innovation uses single-sided, double-sided phased-array fan-sweep oblique wave incidence technology and wave-climbing technology to improve the sensitivity and reliability of detection in terms of both acoustic beam focusing and near-surface detection, thus maximally overcoming the difficulties of ultrasonic detection such as large material attenuation and joint structure shape restrictions.
Solution advantages
Phased array probe wedges to reduce detection blind spots and obtain satisfactory physical deflection angles;
phased arrays with electronic deflection and dynamic focusing to extend the detection range and improve detection sensitivity and defect discrimination;
phased array with ABCD scanning function, especially in the detection of process defects, facilitating the inspector to quickly identify defects and find defect mapping features;
Crawling waves enable the detection of surface joint defects on hot melt joints possible.
In recent years, China has introduced a number of policies related to the construction of oil and gas pipelines, and the use of pipelines in industrial development has become more widespread and their application status has been increasing. Zhongke Innovation has more than 30 years of experience in the NDT industry. Currently, the company is developing new customised solutions in line with the market's inspection pain points, so stay tuned!
