Engineering Encyclopedia

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Underwater NDT

Note: The source of the technical material in this volume is the Professional
Engineering Development Program (PEDP) of Engineering Services.
Warning: The material contained in this document was developed for Saudi
Aramco and is intended for the exclusive use of Saudi Aramcos
employees. Any material contained in this document which is not
already in the public domain may not be copied, reproduced, sold, given,
or disclosed to third parties, or otherwise used in whole, or in part,
without the written permission of the Vice President, Engineering
Services, Saudi Aramco.

Chapter : Inspection
File Reference: COE10307

For additional information on this subject, contact

W.P. Lamp on 875-2724

Engineering Encyclopedia

Inspection
Underwater NDT

CONTENTS

PAGES

REASONS FOR UNDERWATER INSPECTION OF PLATFORMS

AND PIPELINES ................................................................................................... 1
COMMON DEFECTS DETECTED DURING UNDERWATER
INSPECTION ......................................................................................................... 2
CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF UNDERWATER NDT
METHODS ............................................................................................................. 4
GLOSSARY ........................................................................................................... 7

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REASONS FOR UNDERWATER INSPECTION OF PLATFORMS AND PIPELINES

An offshore platform is an expensive investment with a service life as much as 30 years.
Whether for economic reasons, safety, or compliance with statutory regulations, new
equipment and better procedures are used to verify the reliability and integrity of offshore
structures. A key factor in planning a maintenance strategy is an inspection program with
reliable inspection techniques and results. Before deciding to repair or replace platform
components or even the entire platform, it is important to know how accurately the specific
inspection technique can estimate the extent of damage. The maintenance plan must also
establish an inspection interval so that damage can be repaired before it progresses to a critical
point. Experience has shown that a platform inspection plan must be in place before the
platform is installed.
Worldwide distribution of offshore platforms is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Permanent Platforms Worldwide*

Area
To 85 ft
To 150 ft
>150 ft
Red Sea & Gulf of Suez
18
25
10
Arabian Gulf
181
101
33
Rest of World
1189
694
1183

*Excludes single-pile structures

Source: Lovie & Co.

Total
53
315
3066

Underwater inspection is used to investigate the following conditions.

Gross damage
Cracks
Corrosion
Cathodic protection potential levels
Anode condition and percent depletion
Debris
Marine growth
Scour depth and area

The earliest platforms were installed in the late 1940s in very shallow water (approximately
15 feet). Some of todays platforms are in water depths over 1,000 feet. These platforms are
not only exposed to a corrosive environment but also subject to fatigue problems.

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COMMON DEFECTS DETECTED DURING UNDERWATER INSPECTION

Common defects found while inspecting offshore structures include:

Damage from dropped objects or boat impact

Reduction in material thickness caused by corrosion
Cracks caused by fatigue

Construction material, anchors, and even explosives have been dropped near platforms,
collapsing platform members and pipelines. Even trawling nets have damaged seabed
flowlines.
Corrosion has also been a problem for offshore structures. Selected instances of pitting are
summarized in Table 2. Inadequate cathodic protection systems and improper welding
procedures during platform installation are two causes of platform corrosion. Some platforms
have been found with up to 200 holes. Other platforms have experienced fatigue problems in
conductor framing.
Table 2. Recorded Pit Depths from Selected Locations
Pit Depth (mm)
Service (years)
Site
0.7
1
Cook Inlet, Alaska1, 2
6.2
6
Gulf of Mexico3
>5.0
5
North Sea4
Pitting corrosion in the base metal of a platform not adjacent to a weld is relatively
harmless unless it is allowed to proceed unchecked. If pitting is concentrated in a small area,
the efficiency of the cathodic protection system is suspect. The types of corrosion that most
concern operators are pitting and cracking that occurs along a weld at a major node of the
platform.
1Barnett, S. L. and Taylor, J. M., Cathodic Protection Experience in Cook Inlet, Alaska, OTC Paper 2700,
Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 1976
2Hedborg, C. E., Corrosion Control, Cook Inlet Platforms, Paper SPE 2823, 99th Annual Meeting, AIME,
Denver, Colorado, Feb. 15-19, 1970
3Boening, D. E., Offshore Cathodic Protection Experience and Economic Reassessment, OTC Paper 2702,
Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 1976
4Smart, J. S., Practice for Planning, Designing and Corrosion Failure of Offshore Steel Platforms, Materials
Performance, Vol. 19, No. 5, May 1980, pp. 41-48

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Underwater NDT

The area from the waterline to the first horizontal level of a structure suffers the most damage
from collision with boats and barges, wave action, movement of conductors, and corrosion.
This area should receive the most detailed examination. Fortunately, this area is also the least
costly to inspect. In addition, older platforms that have either been loaded beyond their
original design capacity or have suffered severe damage are candidates for inspection.
Marine growth is a problem for all underwater inspection tasks, usually masking all but the
grossest of defects. Cleaning must occur before inspection. Cleaning the steel surface not
only removes marine growth but also corrosion products or calcareous deposits. Corrosion
products of steel are normally reddish-brown. Calcareous deposits are gray or white and
generally indicate effective cathodic protection. Prior to cleaning, the type of corrosion
affecting an area may be determined from the deposit colors. Cleaning methods include wire
brushing, water jetting, and grit-sand entrained water jetting.
On an offshore structure, materials attach to the steel in the following order.

Black oxide - this is difficult and slow to remove. Even though the oxide may be
only 0.005 inches thick, water pressures of up to 25,000 psi may be necessary!

Cathodically deposited calcareous deposits

Various hard or soft marine organisms

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Inspection
Underwater NDT

CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF UNDERWATER NDT METHODS

Underwater inspection methods include:

Visual examination (diver or ROV)

Capabilities
Visual examination is always the first inspection method for damage such as
general or localized corrosion and shallow or intense pitting. Tape measures, pit
gauges, and profile gauges are used to measure and monitor corrosion. Deeper
waters require remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or 1-atmosphere diving suits.
Real-time video coverage using helmet-mounted cameras on divers is also an
option to help surface personnel see what is going on underwater. The diver,
however, has the advantage of true 3-D vision.
Remotely operated vehicles can perform video swim-throughs and cathodic
protection surveys. ROVs have also performed flooded member detection,
ultrasonic thickness readings, and magnetic particle inspections.

Limitations
Divers are normally restricted to a 300 to 400 ft water depth. Deeper waters
require
1-atmosphere diving suits or remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), which are
expensive.

Stereo photography
Stereo photography offers the capability to monitor crack growth in concrete and
corrosion pitting in steel. Accuracies of less than 1 mm for crack depths are possible
using this technique. When an object is photographed from two different positions
simultaneously, its image will appear at a different position on each photographic plate.
Measuring image locations with a knowledge of camera geometries and lens distortions
determines the position of the object. This technique has been used for corrosion pit
depth measurement, weld and dent profiles, and mapping of node geometries.

Magnetic particle inspection

Magnetic particle inspection is the most common underwater NDT technique for
investigating cracks. This technique is capable of detecting surface-breaking defects as
small as 1 mm. Defects in the material under inspection disrupt the magnetic flux
running through the material and force flux lines around them. Small ferromagnetic
particles applied to the surface are attracted to areas of high flux intensity. Particles can
be dyed or made fluorescent to provide maximum contrast.

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Magnetic particle inspection can be successfully conducted underwater through black oxide
by using an AC yoke. This technique has several advantages over blasting through to the
metal surface.

Reduced cleaning time (as much as 50%)

Rapid inspection rate

Adequate sensitivity

Using the concept of magnetic particle inspection, tough rubber magnetic tape can be placed
over underwater welds and then magnetized. The tape records any defects. A diver retrieves
the tape for evaluation by an inspection engineer on the surface. Although close contact must
be maintained between the weld and the strip, this system works through paint and thin
corrosion product layers with a probe-to-surface distance of up to 2 mm. The tapes are a
permanent record of the inspection. The tape technique reduces expensive diving time,
provides quick results, allows evaluation to occur onshore and not underwater, and reduces
expensive cleaning time.

Ultrasonic wall thickness readings

Ultrasonic testing (UT) performs underwater wall thickness surveys of exposed
submarine riser bends for internal scour and pitting. After being placed in contact with
the piece to be inspected, the test equipment generates a high frequency pulse. Sound
reflects from the back wall of the test piece, and the delay for the reflected pulse is
calculated. The wall thickness is then determined. Several portable digital readout UT
instruments are commercially available.
Detection of flooding inside normally dry platform members is another ultrasonic
application commonly used underwater in the North Sea. Water is a reasonably good
conductor of ultrasonic signals. If a member has water in it, a signal reflects either from
the water-air interface or, if the member is completely flooded, from the opposite wall.
With dry members, the sound will not travel with sufficient strength in the air to give a
second reflection.

Cathodic protection potential readings

Cathodic protection potentials can also be measured underwater.
A potential
measurement will only indicate adequacy of protection at one point, but a series of
readings will indicate the general level of protection.

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Radiography
Radiography has also been used for underwater inspection of weld repairs. The gamma
source technique using iridium 192 is most common. Cobalt 60 may be used for thick
wall inspections.

AC potential drop
The alternating current potential drop (ACPD) method is one of the newest underwater
inspection techniques. ACPD supports magnetic particle inspection since it measures
crack depth. The principle of operation involves passing a high frequency AC current
through the surface of the piece to be tested. The AC electrical field generated follows
the surface of the material, including the sides of any surface-breaking defects. Probes
measure the potential drop across a defect and the area immediately adjacent to it. The
difference between the two results allows crack depth to be calculated. Taking three or
four readings along the length of the defect provides accurate depth measurements with
claims of resolution better than 1 mm.

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Inspection
Underwater NDT

GLOSSARY
3-D

Three-dimensional view

calcareous deposits

Chalk-like deposits that form on steel in seawater

cathodic protection

A corrosion prevention technique used to induce electrical

currents that stop the corrosion currents on a specified structure

fatigue

Tendency of a metal to break from a cyclic movement

node

Junction of at least two structural members of an offshore

structure

remotely operated
vehicle
(ROV)

Submersible equipment used to do underwater tasks

scour

Action of flowing currents removing sand near an offshore

platform or pipeline

stereo photography

Photography used to obtain a three-dimensional effect

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