Fast screening for detection of heavy corrosion in insulated pipe using pulsed eddy current

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Insulated pipe and steel structures arise in a large number of applications including oil and gas pipeline,**balance of plant in the petrochemical industry, steel support structures for buildings and large liquid storage**containers. Degradation of insulated metal piping, pressure vessels and structural components may be the**result of 1) internal corrosive processes, arising within the existing transport medium or 2) external sources**such as aerated water or water with corrosive contaminants that have been introduced into thick (up to 51 mm)**insulating barriers. Other areas where corrosion may occur include above ground carbon steel storage tanks,**where insulating layers can be 6 to10 mm thick. Current ultrasonic inspection technology is only capable of**localized wall thickness measurements after insulation removal. PEC has a demonstrated capability to perform**inspection in the presence of conducting ferromagnetic materials at large lift-offs. This project will: 1) Develop**pulsed eddy current (PEC) technology, including probe design that is optimized for rapid inspection of**insulated electrically conducting pipe at large lift-off for general corrosion. 2) Demonstrate capabilities and**limitations of such technology. 3) Develop theoretical models of the response of PEC to changing wall**thickness, lift-off and permeability and validate these against laboratory measurements. 4) Optimize probe**design for the target inspection conditions and assist in identifying parameters that may affect measurement**accuracy using the developed models. This work will be important to inspection service providers who cannot**currently perform local inspection of pipe without expensive and time consuming removal of insulation.**Development of technologies that will assist in lifecycle management and improve assessment capability for**conditions of corrosion in chemical processing, oil and gas and liquid transport and containment industries will**support the performance of Canadian industry in these areas. HQP will be trained to enter the workforce in this**rapidly growing area of in-service inspection.**