UltraScan surveys in gas pipelines

using batch technology

by H Goedecke, G Krieg, H Stripf, B Pavlovski, D Nurgaliev and N Holzakov
Pipetronix GmbH, Germany

Contents of this Paper:

Introduction

Basic functions of the tool

Importance to industry

Batch technology

Note: Graphics not available.

Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Monitoring Conference: Amsterdam, 1992

This paper describes the UltraScan corrosion tool and the high-precision technique of direct ultrasonic
measurement of wall thickness. Batch technology has been developed to provide a liquid coupling medium for
application to gas lines. Results from standard and batch surveys are shown.

Introduction
The Ultrascan corrosion pig uses the ultrasonic wall-thickness measurement technique to measure corrosion in
pipelines. In using the highly-accurate ultrasonic technique, the tool is able to measure the wall thickness of the
pipeline directly and thereby provide data for analysis. The tool is equipped with numerous sensors which allow
scanning of the entire pipe wall in one pass of the pig through the pipe, and it is fully adapted to withstand the
pipeline environment with a standard pressure capability of 120bar; extreme situations like 15% dents, unbarred
full size tees or 1.5-D bends, have been dealt with successfully.
In liquid pipelines, the corrosion tool uses the transported medium to transmit the ultrasound from the sensor to
the wall. In gas pipelines, it is not possible to run the tool directly in the transported medium because a gas
medium does not provide sufficient coupling. Pipetronix has developed batch technology in order to overcome
this drawback.

Basic functions of the tool

Numerous ultrasonic sensors, designed to scan the entire pipe wall, are mounted on a highly-flexible polyurethane
sensor carrier which guides the sensors at an even distance along the inner wall, and keeps each individual sensor
perpendicular to it (Fig.1).
The tool uses vertical-impact wall-thickness measurement techniques, with the sensors used in an immersed
mode. Each sensor determines the wall thickness, D, but also continuously records the sensor stand-off, A. This
allows the tool easily to distinguish between internal and external corrosion, since the stand-off function will not
respond to external defects but will fully display internal defects (Fig.2).

Hardware
The ultrasonic electronics, which are organized in 64-channel multiplex units, have an output of two 8-bit words
for each sensor at a sampling rate of 300-350Hz, one for stand-off and one for wall thickness. The rate of
dataflow from the ultrasonic unit can be up to 400kB/sec. The ultrasonic and auxiliary data are assessed and
condensed by a multi-microprocessor system and then stored on digital tape with a storage capacity of between 5
and 15 Gbytes, depending on tool size. The pig also carries several odometer wheels to measure distance, a
marker system to provide additional zero points for distance measurement, a pendulum to determine
circumferential orientation, and a master system to pre-program and monitor the survey run.
Lithium cells are used as power supply. A typical tool consists of three units and a sensor-carrier (Fig.3).

Interpretation
Data interpretation is carried out by a powerful PC. Defects are displayed on the screen in graphic format to aid
interpretation: a three-dimensional chart representing the C-scan gives the stand-off value in the upper half, the
wall thickness in the lower half, the third dimension being represented by colour contours.
The colour display appears white for an undisturbed pipeline but, if there are defects, coloured areas appear in the
chart and clearly mark the extent and location of the defects. The sample chart shown in Fig.4 displays one
internal and two external defects, and demonstrates how easy it is to distinguish between the two types, the
external defects appearing only in the wall-thickness chart.

Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.

UltraScan surveys in gas pipelines using batch technology

Additionally, the B-scan display from a selected sensor is shown in the lower half of the screen. This display is
used to determine the exact shape and depth of the defect.
Fig.5 shows a further example of an external defect, illustrating its extent over a large but rather shallow area.
Fig.6 is an internal defect, which shows up clearly on both the stand-off and wall-thickness charts.

Importance to industry
The importance of this corrosion tool to the pipeline industry has been demonstrated in a number of projects
where a customer has owned a heavily-corroded pipeline and has seriously considered taking the pipeline out of
operation. After accurate measurement of the degree of corrosion and repair of the few heavily-corroded areas, the
pipelines has been put back in operation, still corroded, but operating safely because the degree of corrosion has
been identified exactly.
The system also plays an important role in the operation of pipelines carrying corrosive media, where a calculated
amount of corrosion is designed into the pipe wall. Accurate measurement with the tool is used to monitor the
progress of corrosion, especially in critical areas, at repeated intervals. These pipeline projects depend totally on
the existence of a highly-accurate inspection tool.
Naturally, a number of gas-pipeline operators have also requested high-precision surveys, and in response to this
Pipetronix has consequently developed batch technology to allow the corrosion tool to be used in gas pipelines.

Batch technology
Fig.7 shows the basic configuration of a batch. At the front end a train of batching pigs defines the beginning of
the liquid batch, the corrosion tool being placed approximately in the middle of the batch; a further train of
batching pigs follows, defining the end of the batch, and keeping the liquid together. This batch, in effect a train
of various pigs and liquid, is moved as one unit by the gas stream through the pipeline. It is important for the
operation of the corrosion tool that absolutely no gas penetrates into the batch during the survey run, and
considerable expertise and experience are required to achieve this goal in practice.
To run a batch successfully through the line requires:

specific project-orientated design of the batching pigs;

carefully-planned launching and receiving procedures; and

smooth operation of the pipeline during the survey.

Details of the batch

Batching pigs
The batching pigs have to be carefully adapted to the pipeline to be inspected. In general, bi-di pigs with discs are
used, but cup pigs have also been used to deal with special situations such as narrow bends, large tees, wyes, or
special fittings. The number of batching pigs in the front and the rear depends on the line configuration and the
number of fittings the batching train has to pass.

Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Monitoring Conference: Amsterdam, 1992

Liquids
In principle, the liquid for the batch is chosen by the customer to be compatible with the gas product to be
transported. Typical liquids are: water, crude oil, diesel, petrol, or naphtha. Pipetronix is presently adapting the
ultrasonic sensors to liquids such as condensate, liquid gases or natural-gas liquids (NGLs).
A gel can be added to the liquid to improve the operating characteristics. The gel has the advantage of achieving
better sealing, providing lubrication and also stabilizing the velocity of the batch.
In practice, the biggest problem for the operator is the disposal of the liquid after the survey run; NGLs can be
easily flared off, which greatly simplifies the disposal problem. The chemical industry is developing gels which
degrade after a set period and have no negative effects on the environment.

Length of batch
Initially, a batch length of 0.5-1.0% was anticipated. In practice, it was found that the loss of liquid which is left
behind in the thin film adhering to the pipe wall was negligible, especially when some liquid is pumped into the
line ahead of the first batching pig. With this experience, the batch length is determined only by safety
considerations, in order to make sure that the batching pigs do not run into the intelligent pig, which would cause
severe damage to the pig. A batch length of 500m has proved very successful for line lengths from 20-100km.
However, in future shorter batch lengths will be tried, especially for shorter lines, in order to save costs.

Pipeline pressure
The compressibility factor of a gas decreases with increasing pressure. In order to minimize the speed variation of
the batch inside the gas pipeline, the gas pressure during the survey run should be at the highest level that the
pipeline system can accommodate.

Preparation of the pipeline

As a first step, all the launching and receiving installations are checked for their ability to accept the various pig
trains. Furthermore, all fittings along the pipeline are inspected in order to assess their influence on the integrity
of the batch. A plan is drawn up of how the station area at the launching side can be vented during the launching
procedure, and all tees along the pipeline have to be isolated.
Prior to the survey, both general and special cleaning are carried out, in the same way as for a normal scanning
run; this can be done during the normal sequence of pipeline operations.
Provisions have to be made to feed the liquid into the pipeline at the launching end. A large-capacity liquid tank, a
high-pressure pump of sufficient capacity, and pipe connections into the launching trap, including by-pass
connections, have to be temporarily installed. Transportation of the liquid has to be organized. On the receiving
end, slug-catching facilities or flare facilities have to be installed for receipt and disposal of the liquid.

Launching procedures
In order to launch the batch, the pipeline is first pressurized to the highest possible value, and then the gas flow is
stopped. The pigs are now launched into the pipeline with liquid, using basically the same procedures as for
launching pigs in liquid pipelines. During the entire launching procedure, it is necessary to make absolutely sure
that there is no air trapped in the batch or station area.
When the UltraScan pig is launched, the electronics are activated immediately upon leaving the trap, and the tool
is then pumped approximately 200m down the line propelled by the liquid (Fig.8). The pumping rate should be
adapted to give a pig speed not lower than 0.2km/hr, and the flow should be constant to allow for proper
interpretation of the data which are collected during this phase.
4

Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.

UltraScan surveys in gas pipelines using batch technology

Only when the last batching pig has been pumped with liquid out of the launch station is the gas flow slowly
resumed, in order to set the entire batch in motion.

Running
While the batch is running in the pipeline, the flow of gas should be constant and pressure surges should be
avoided. The batch train inside the gas pipeline is in effect a mass-spring system, and the velocity of the batch is
therefore not constant but oscillating around the average gas velocity. The degree of velocity cycling depends on a
variety of factors, and can best be reduced by introducing friction into the system by adding a gel to the liquid of
the batch.

Receiving
During receiving, the corrosion tool is run as close as possible to the trap before the batch is stopped. In cases
where the trap is long enough to receive the leading batching pig train and the corrosion tool together, the
corrosion tool is run right into the trap without stopping. During the receiving operation, the pig speed is reduced
to approximately 0.2-0.4m/sec to make the situation more controllable.

Typical results
The data collected by the pig in a batch survey is identical to that obtained in liquid pipelines. This means that
normal metal-loss defects are displayed in an identical manner, as already shown in Figs 5 and 6. Apart from
these corrosion defects, two new kinds of hydrogen-induced lamination defects, which can only be found with
ultrasonic methods and which mainly occur in gas pipelines, have also been found in these batch surveys. Two
different kinds of lamination have been found: the factory type of lamination, created during the rolling process in
the steel plant (Figs 9 and 10); and hydrogen-induced lamination, which develops during the operation of the
pipeline.
Hydrogen-induced lamination has an opaque quality, because it develops from small laminar cracks which slowly
grow and recombine to form a defect of large area. According to the growth state, such a defect is more or less
transparent to the ultrasonic signal, and appears as a broken area of lamination on the screen. Figs 11 and 12 show
such hydrogen-induced laminations in longitudinally- and spirally-welded gas line-pipe.
A further hydrogen-related defect, only recently discovered, consists of a series of blisters which develop in the
gas-filled portion of oil pipelines operated in the slack-line mode on downhill sections. Traces of H2S are
sufficient to create this kind of defect over many years of operation. Fig.13 shows a group of such blisters of
various size, and Fig.14 shows one especially-large blister where the pipe wall is bulging considerably, forming a
dent-like deformation which can also be seen on the scan chart.
The results of these batch-survey runs clearly show the importance of applying ultrasonic techniques to gas
pipelines, and justify the additional expense of establishing the batch in such a pipeline in order to run the
corrosion tool.

Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Monitoring Conference: Amsterdam, 1992

Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.