Automated Pipeline Inspection (AUT)
Mechanized or Automated Ultrasonic Testing of pipeline girth welds is now in common use in the on – and... View more
AUT for mainline pipe inspection
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AUT for mainline pipe inspection
I need some advice please. Our client is proposing mainline production for his automatic welding company to produce from 100 to 120 welds per day. This is for one spread. It is relatively flat land.
Is that really possible? 6 days a week? And if so, would there be a sound reason to have a second AUT complete unit for back up?
Would 100 to 120 welds require a 4 man crew for AUT?
If there is production of 100 to 120 welds per day, is AUT faster than crawlers?
Thanks for the help.
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1 Reply
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It depends on the diameter and the wall thickness of the pipeline. You have to consider the time for the band/scanner positioning. Then the scanning time and the interpretation time. For most of the commonly used AUT systems, the scanning speed is in the range 30 to 80 mm/sec. Based on that, you can try to calculate the scanning time for your scope of work. On top of that, you have to consider the time for the calibrations (depending on the specification/procedure, it can be every weld or every 5 welds or every 10 welds, etc.). Interpretation time is a “random” variable. A clean strip chart requires relatively “no time” to be assessed. “Dirty” welds will require much more time.
The crew depends again on the diameter of the pipeline. If it is a large OD pipe for that type of production rate, I would say that you need at least 2 AUT operator (or 1 operator and 1 supervisor) and probably 3x scanner technicians (2 working on the “scanned” weld and the third one that can clean the following weld/cooling it if needed/setup the band/etc). 100 welds on a 10 hours shift means one weld every 6 min. It looks to me a really challenging target for one spread (for both welding and AUT). However, AUT would be faster than RT done with crawlers.
