PULSED EDDY CURRENT (PEC) Lyft - Pulsed eddy current reinvented

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Virgil Taylor
6 years ago
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1 PULSED EDDY CURRENT (PEC) Lyft - Pulsed eddy current reinvented 1

2 PRESENTATION CONTENT Applications and basics of the technology Compensated wall thickness feature (CWT), Dynamic mode feature, SmartPulse feature. PEC for Corrosion under fireproofing (CUF) PEC for composite wraps PEC for remaining wall thickness under Scab New applications under evaluation Future developments 2

WHY USE PULSED EDDY CURRENT CUI - Corrosion under insulation PEC is used to inspect through insulated structures that may or may not be protected with a weather jacket.

3 WHY USE PULSED EDDY CURRENT CUI - Corrosion under insulation PEC is used to inspect through insulated structures that may or may not be protected with a weather jacket. PEC can penetrate aluminum, stainless steel or galvanized steel weather jackets. Inspect wall thickness up to 100mm (4.0 inches) Supports liftoff/insulation/coating thickness up to 300 mm (12.0 inches)

4 WHY USE PULSED EDDY CURRENT Scab and blistering PEC measures the remaining thickness of magnetic materials. The corrosion product layer is not part of the remaining measured wall. 4

coating, metallic mesh and reinforcing bar.

5 WHY USE PULSED EDDY CURRENT CUF - Corrosion under Fireproofing and Concrete PEC measures remaining wall thickness through concrete, polymer coating, metallic mesh and reinforcing bar. FAC - Flow accelerated corrosion PEC is suitable for measuring corrosion in elbows and other limited access areas. 5

Near metallic structures such as nozzles, flanges, pipe supports.

6 WHY USE PULSED EDDY CURRENT Suitable for limited access inspections Near or on elbows, supports, valves, etc. Near metallic structures such as nozzles, flanges, pipe supports. Other applications Water work and Cast Iron pipes Underwater and at the splash zone, over marine growth, composite wraps and corrosion product. 6

7 PEC WORKING PRINCIPLES 7

8 ADVANTAGES OF PEC Provides a relative wall thickness measurement through liftoff. Inspects through various types of coatings/insulations. Not affected by surface preparation. Detects OD and ID corrosion. Fast with dynamic scanning mode. In-service inspections, no need to remove insulation. Safe, no radiological hazards involved in the test. 9

PEC WORKING PRINCIPLES - CALIBRATION SmartPULSE automated setup - unique to Lyft Reliable measurements despite liftoff variations, weather jacket overlaps, straps, and corrosion scabs Guarantees full

9 PEC WORKING PRINCIPLES - CALIBRATION SmartPULSE automated setup - unique to Lyft Reliable measurements despite liftoff variations, weather jacket overlaps, straps, and corrosion scabs Guarantees full thickness sensitivity (OD and ID flaw detection) Minimizes operator dependency PEC Autoset (Hardware settings) Automatic setup of PEC parameters (gain, pulse width, pulse frequency, transmit-receive time window, etc.) WT Calibration (Internal calibration curve) One-point calibration on nominal wall + auto-normalization Repeatability optimization (Averaging multiple data points) Defines the right balance between scanning speed and repeatability based on a statistical evaluation of the data

scanning provides a better resolution (image B)

10 PEC WORKING PRINCIPLES - ACQUISITION Grid and encoded dynamic modes available Encoded dynamic scanning provides a better resolution (image B) Dynamic scanning acquired at 50mm/s (2 in/sec) 11

PEC WORKING PRINCIPLES - SIZING Foot Print vs.

It defines the maximum distance between scanning points.

PEC signal. The averaging area is approximately 1.

11 PEC WORKING PRINCIPLES - SIZING Foot Print vs. Averaging Area The Foot Print (FP) area is established to ensure we have adequate coverage between scanning points. It defines the maximum distance between scanning points. 6 db (50%) Footprint diameter Averaging area diameter The averaging area is the entire region encompassed by the PEC signal. The averaging area is approximately 1.8 FP (Foot Print) Defects smaller than the averaging area will be undersized Footprint value changes with: Probe size Liftoff or Coating/Insulation thickness Component wall thickness 12 Diameter of the inspected pipe Typical 2D shape of probe footprint on flat 0.5 in-thick steel plate, 2 in insulation

12 PEC WORKING PRINCIPLES - SIZING Average wall thickness measurement impact For defects larger than the averaging area, the sizing accuracy is +/- 10%. Defects smaller than the averaging area will be undersized. Material addition near the defect influence the averaging calculation (will decrease wall thickness readings) Average WT Average WT 13 Good sizing accuracy Defect undersizing

Calculate a compensated wall thickness value Returns the sizing accuracy for

13 PEC WORKING PRINCIPLES - SIZING Lyft uses a compensated wall thickness (CWT) sizing tool to counter the undersizing effect of PEC Isolate defect contribution Calculate a compensated wall thickness value Returns the sizing accuracy for defects smaller than the probe averaging area ( +/- 10%) Average WT 14 Defect undersizing

14 PEC WORKING PRINCIPLES - SIZING CWT Sizing Tool - unique to Lyft The compensated wall thickness (CWT) sizing tool provides a more accurate minimum WT measurement of flaws smaller than the probe s averaging area. 15

15 PEC FOR CUF VALERO CANADA Comparable results between the Lyft and Phased Array spot checks on corrosion: 16

16 PEC FOR COMPOSITE WRAPS Lyft with CWT compared to Creaform VT3D VT3D results were acquired before wrapping, PEC acquired over the composit wrap 17

17 PEC FOR RWT OVER SCAB 18

18 PEC FOR RWT OVER SCAB Consolidated results comparing: VT-3D, UT, Radiograply and the Lyft with CWT 19

19 PEC FOR RWT OVER SCAB Lyft compared to Radiography 20

PEC FOR CUPS APPLICATION UNDER EVALUATION Surface

unknown Removing the scab (scrape or sand blast) can

thin, endangering operator safety Preliminary tests and

20 PEC FOR CUPS APPLICATION UNDER EVALUATION Surface preparation is unsafe if the remaining wall thickness is unknown Removing the scab (scrape or sand blast) can result in a failure of the line if the pipe wall is too thin, endangering operator safety Preliminary tests and results with custom probes are under evaluation with Valero Canada 21

21 PEC FOR CUI - FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS Eddyfi technologies is actively working on a solution to improve productivity on CUI applications. - The new solution should improve inspection productivity by 6 times on typical CUI applications - The product will be ready for Spring

22 ADVANTAGES OF LYFT FOR PEC INSPECTIONS SmartPULSE automated setup tool limit operator dependency CWT eliminates undersizing Dynamic mode improve scan resolution Stainless / Aluminum / Galvanized weather jackets Inspect small pipes, with diameter down to 25 mm (1 in) Automated reporting functionality Flexible online training Field proven unit, more than 100 Lyft in the field! Worldwide customer support!

23 Thank you!

Pulsed Eddy Current Testing (PECT) Inspection Technique

Introduction Pulsed Eddy Current Testing (PECT) is an inspection technique used for corrosion under insulation (CUI) screening on carbon steel structures as pipes, vessels, tanks and spherical tank legs