Development of an ultrasonic inspection pig for in-service wall thickness measurements of gas pipelines

Conference · Sun May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983 · Offshore Technol. Conf.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5394247

Haugen, R; Dalberg, P; Hogmoen, K

In 1979, Elf Aquitaine Norge A/S and Det norske Veritas started a project for development of an ultrasonic inspection pig for offshore gas pipelines. The project aimed at developing ultrasonic methods for wall thickness measurements suitable for a pig type inspection unit. The methods should be able to detect external as well as internal corrosion attacks, and give information for verification of pipeline integrity and analysis of possible corrosion attacks. The methods should further be capable of measuring during operational pressure in the pipeline, and not interfere with the normal gas production. The project consists of three main phases. In the first phase the measurement principles were developed. Based on these principles, the pigging system and data handling system were outlined. The second phase aimed at solving the technical problems associated with the operation of the measurement system in a pipeline. An on-stream pig was designed and built for evaluation of the system in an operational pipeline. The pig's capabilities and the accuracies of the measurements were tested in a 40 bar test section with artificial defects. In the third project phase the complete data handling and presentation system will be built and the on-stream pig will be developed into a pig unit for complete coverage of the pipeline. At the present stage, the phases one and two have been completed, and the presentation will describe the developed measurement system as well as test results and experiences.

• Research Organization: Hogmoen, Det norske Veritas
• OSTI ID: 5394247
• Report Number(s): CONF-830514-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Offshore Technol. Conf.; (United States) Journal Volume: 2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
032000* -- Natural Gas-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
ACOUSTIC TESTING
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CORROSION
DATA PROCESSING
ENERGY SYSTEMS
IN-SERVICE INSPECTION
INSPECTION
MATERIALS TESTING
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MEASURING METHODS
NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING
OFFSHORE OPERATIONS
OFFSHORE SITES
PIPELINES
PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
PROCESSING
TESTING
ULTRASONIC TESTING