TRANSKOR INTERNATIONAL (UK) LTD

 •
No interruption to the pipeline operation

•
No minimum or maximum operating pressure required

•
No need for special pipeline equipment or preparation

•
No contact with or change to mode of the pipeline

•
No limit to length of pipeline inspected

•
Identifies all metal defects irrespective of orientation

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Identifies defective insulation coatings

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Suitable for all ferromagnetic pipelines including tight turns and small

diameters

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Lower cost and more accurate than traditional survey methods

Magnetic tomography charts the attributes and characteristics of pipe sections by register-
ing and analysing changes in the magnetic field of the pipeline. These changes are related
to stress which in turn are related to defects in the metal and insulation.

Magnetic data is collected from the ground surface and anomalies detected are a function
of stress, mechanical loading and structural changes in the metal. Magnetic tomography
does not measure the dimensions of geometric defects alone but instead it measures the
stress caused by these defects and identifies their character, location and orientation in
accordance with the location and orientation of the area of stress. Linear and angular co-
ordinates of flaws in the metal and coating are defined within a tolerance of +/-0,25m
 Measure Stress Not Geometry.
MTM determines the comparative degree of
danger of defects by a direct quantitative as-
sessment of the stress-deformed condition of
the metal. Conventional surveys only measure
the geometrical parameters of a defect. Their
subsequent calculations to assess the impact
of the defect on the safe operation of the pipe
do not take into consideration the stress
caused by the defect. Therefore conventional
surveys may fail to detect dangerously
stressed areas of the pipe or, conversely, clas-
sify a defect as one which requires urgent at-
tention when, in reality, the stress level may be
low and the defect presents no immediate threat to the operation of the pipe. Since MTM
directly measures the stress caused by defects it is an inherently more accurate guide to
the safe operation of the pipeline than conventional survey methods.

Monitor Defect Growth

Because MTM allows any section of any length of a pipeline to be surveyed while the pipe
remains in operation it can be used to monitor the evolution of defects and the increase in
stress caused by such growth. These measurements may be taken at any interval of time
and can be compiled into a database. Excavation and repair with its subsequent disruption
to service is therefore more easily controlled and maintenance can be planned with confi-
dence at convenient times.

Reduce Unnecessary Excava-

tions
MTM is inherently more accu-
rate than in line pig surveys
both in its ability to determine
the nature of a defect and in
defining its position. Conse-
quently the number of unneces-
sary excavations caused by
spurious data and inaccurate
positioning of detected defects
are considerably reduced com-
pared with in line PIG surveys.

Reduce Reporting Timescale

Preliminary reports identifying the position and degree of danger of defects located in the
pipe is usually presented within three days of the magnetic data survey. Immediate reme-
dial attention can therefore be applied to pipe sections if necessary.

Predict Deterioration
The final report includes a corrosion forecast and an assessment of the stress-deformed
condition level.
Reduce Costs with MTM
Operational costs of MTM are considerably lower than in line inspection costs.
Therefore not only are MTM surveys more accurate but they also cost significantly
less than in line surveys. With MTM there is



No need to equip the pipeline with a pig launch or trap,

No need for a pipeline cleanout

No need for inner surface preparation,

No need to open a section of pipeline to recover a trapped Pig



and therefore

NO LOST PRODUCTION.

Improve Accuracy
Considerable savings are made from the greater accuracy of MTM defect definition
and location. For example consider the following data which has been taken from a
recent case study where a total of 6.6km of pipelines varying in diameter from 219 –
720mm were surveyed by both MTM and in line methods

Stage of works PIG $USk MTM

$USk

1 Excavation (15 pits, 3m long and 2m deep) 75.85 10.1

2 Insulation coating repair following additional NDT 61.94 8.25

3 Highway repairs following excavation 26.49 3.53

4 Total direct expenses 164.28 21.88

This table shows the costs of unnecessary excavations, repairs to insulation dam-
aged during confirmatory NDT and making good to damaged road surfaces - all
incurred because of false indications reported by the in line survey. The costs of
MTM were incurred by verification works which subsequently confirmed that the
MTM report was correct. In this example, then, the use of MTM would have saved
US$142.4k in unnecessary works. The cost of such works vary in different locations
but the proportionate increase in costs incurred by the lower accuracy of in line sur-
veys serves as a useful guide to the savings that can be made by using MTM. And
this does not include the lower cost of the survey itself.
Geometrical (corrugations, dents, ovality

Corrosive structural and mechanical changes

Metal loss (defines internal and external corrosion)

Discontinuities (delamination, non-metallic inclusions)

Crack-like defects (linear defects in all orientations

Stress corrosion cracks

Weld defects

Stress deformation caused by sag, flexure, landslip

Defective insulation

Technical Data
Magnetometer dimensions



200mm x 200mm x 750mm

Connection to an IBM PC



via RS232 interface

Casing protection category


IP-66

Weight






4.5kg

Power supply





PS1212 storage batteries or similar. 9 - 24

V DC external source

Continuous operating duration


> 8 hrs

Detectable metal flaws



Crack-like defects in any orientation (laps,









scabs, scratches, cracking and exfoliation)

Stress corrosion

Weld defects (laps, pores, cracks, lack of

fusion, lack of penetration, displacement,







metal flakes, residual thermal stress









within the heat affected zone)

Compression marks, corrugations,

scores, out of roundness and changes in







wall thickness caused by corrosion pits








and filiform corrosion

Loss of metal – including internal and

external corrosion defects of any nature

Delamination

Sections with deviations of a level of

stress deformed conditions caused by,








sagging, landslip, washouts or transitions







under roads.

Local corrosion under scaled insulating

coating

Indents and buckles

Deviation from the specified laying axis

Minimum length of detectable flaws

> 10mm

Opening of detectable flaws


300 microns

Depth of detectable flaws



> 5% of the pipe wall thickness

Measurement tolerance



< 20% of crack length

< 30% of surface crack depth

< 25% of wall thickness loss

Features of surface examined


Flaw detection and cross-section metal

loss for any ferro-magnetic underground










or subaqueous pipe with any type of insu










lation provided it has operated under










pressure
Detection rate





Up to 2m/sec

Distance from pipe




15 pipe diameters maximum depending

upon operating pressure

Data logging





Initial data is fed to the display and re

corded in memory at 0,25m intervals. In










strument memory span is sufficient to con










tinuously record data over a 30km stretch










of pipeline

Initial data processing



On line

Operating temperature range


-25 - +45 deg C

Pipe diameter range




56mm - 1420mm

Pipe wall thickness range



2.8mm - 22mm

DIAGRAM OF MAGNETIC TOMOGRAPHY RESULTS

(Stress concentration distribution along the pipeline)

10” WCufong 231-100612505-ICU

Magnetic field strength data is collected by the magnetometer and fed into a petented to-
mographic reconstruction software algorithm. The chart shows the distribution of stress
concentration and degree of danger along a section of pipeline taken from detected
anomalies in its magnetic field.
 The second shows how this information can be represented to show the density of
anomalies (and therefore defects) in the axial plane and a more quantified representation
of the degree of danger (ref y axis). Note that F (y axis) is an integral index of the degree

of hazard that takes into account the extent of magnetic anomalies, their amplitude and
the shape of the distribution of magnetic intensity vectors over background values.

TRANSKOR INTERNATIONAL (UK) LTD

Tudor House Mews, Westgate,

Grantham NG31 6LU, UK
Tel. +44 1400 283523
Fax. +44 1400 282648
Email: enquiries@transkor-intl.com
Web: www.transkor-intl.com