Inspection of Corrosion at Pipe Supports
Status: Proposal
Date Announced: June, 2023
Project reference: PROP310715
Summary
Corrosion at pipe supports (CAPS) is one of the leading causes of pipeline failure. Saddle clamps and beam supports have historically caused the majority of the problems. Each have the following in common:
- Crevice forming – The formation of crevices at the pipe supports.
- Water trapping – Water is trapped and held in contact with the pipe surface.
- Restricted access – These supports make it almost impossible to paint, or perform other types of maintenance at the support locations. Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques such as visual inspection are often challenging, due to restricted access and it is also problematic to inspect using other NDT methods.
Objectives
- Assess a series of candidate NDE methods for inspection of CAPS, via modelling, blind and open testing, round-robin trials and Probability of Detection (POD) studies.
- Recommend successful inspection methods (or combinations of methods) for this challenging application.
- Qualify/Validate the successful NDE methods.
- Produce a best practice guide for the qualified/validated inspection methods.
- Determine the reasons why any candidate NDT methods did not reach the required level of accuracy or reliability during the trials.
Benefits
- Independent assessment of CAPS inspection techniques.
- Greater choice and increased confidence when selecting NDT techniques for assessing CAPS.
- Improved plant reliability and safety through reduced risk of pipework failure.
- Potential long-term cost benefits through effective pipeline maintenance.
- Possible plant life extension through accurate condition monitoring.
If you are interested in finding out more, download the PDF Summary Outline using the following link.