The ACFM Inspection Method

David Topp

TSC INSPECTION SYSTEMS

Milton Keynes, England
 Introduction to TSC
‹ TSC Inspection Systems is a trading name
of Technical Software Consultants Ltd
‹ Privately owned Company registered in
England
‹ Established in 1984
‹ Develop and sell Non-destructive testing
systems based on their own Technologies
‹ Operate Worldwide

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 TSC
‹ Provide equipment based around ACFM,
ACPD and ACSM inspection techniques
‹ Crack detection, crack sizing, stress
measurement
‹ Main business sectors are Oil & Gas and
Petrochem but also work in Power
Generation (Nuclear and non-nuclear),
Railways, Roads and Bridges, heavy
engineering
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 ACFM OPERATIONS
‹ Angola ‹ Mexico
‹ Australia ‹ New Zealand
‹ Brazil ‹ Norway
‹ Canada ‹ Qatar
‹ China ‹ Saudi Arabia
‹ France ‹ Singapore
‹ Holland ‹ South Africa
‹ Iran ‹ Thailand
‹ Italy ‹ Taiwan
‹ Japan ‹ UAE
‹ Korea ‹ United Kingdom
‹ Malaysia ‹ USA
‹ Malta ‹ Venezuela
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 ALTERNATING CURRENT FIELD
MEASUREMENT (ACFM)

‹ ACFM is an Electromagnetic inspection

technique providing one pass inspection
‹ It has a high tolerance to lift off
‹ Itrequires no electrical contact, so can be used
through coatings
‹ Provides crack detection and sizing (length and
depth)
‹ Does not rely on operator calibration
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 Why choose ACFM?
ACFM MPI PT
Works through
coatings 9 Χ Χ
All data stored
for audit 9 Χ Χ
High and Low
Temperature 9 Χ Χ
Defect Depth
9 Χ Χ
Suitable for
remote 9 Χ Χ
deployment

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 APPLICATION AREAS
‹ Inspection of a wide range of materials including
carbon steels, stainless steels, duplex, super duplex,
titanium, inconel and aluminium

‹ General Weld Inspection

‹ Thread Inspection

‹ High Temperature Applications

‹ ‘In Air’ and subsea

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 ACFM
‹ ACFM is a ‘current perturbation’ technique
‹ Is is significantly different to conventional
eddy current testing methods
‹ It works by making quantitative
measurements of magnetic field
disturbances which arise when an electric
current is disturbed by the presence of a
surface breaking crack

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 Comparison of ACFM with
conventional eddy current testing
ACFM E d d y C ur r e n t
U n ifo rm F ield  X
S im p le sc an p attern  X
R em ote p ro b e d ep loym en t  X
In sen sitiv e to lift o ff  X
A ll d a ta stored for rep la y / au d it  X
C ra ck d ep th w ith o u t ca lib ra tio n  X
C ra ck d ep th s size b eyo n d 5 -1 0 m m  X

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 ACFM

The Bx sensor responds to

current density and shows a
reduction with crack depth

The Bz sensor responds to

crack ends and shows a
trough/peak as the probe
passes over the crack, and
indicates crack length

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 Typical ACFM Defect Indication
The butterfly
plot does not
require uniform
speed of probe
movement

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 Remote probe operator
‹ This offers very significant benefits and is being
used to good effect with divers and rope access
technicians.
‹ You no longer need to train an inspector to dive or
hang off ropes, neither do you need to consider
training climbers or divers to become inspectors.
By working as a team, they each benefit from the
other’s skills.
‹ In the case of rope access the client can save large
amounts of money!
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 Remote probe deployment

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 One or 2 man operation?

MPI - one man and he ACFM - 2 men

needs to be the
Inspector does not need to be
inspector as well as
an access specialist and visa
gain access
versa
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 Inspection through coatings
‹ ACFM does not require the removal of
paint coatings.
‹ Standard probes can operate through non-
conductive coatings up to 5mm thick.
‹ This provides large cost savings compared
to conventional inspection methods.
(Magnetic Particle Testing or Penetrant
Testing).

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 ACFM through metal coatings
‹ ACFM can be used through metal coatings for
crack detection and has been successfully used
with flame sprayed aluminium, zinc (galvanising)
and copper coatings.
‹ It is not always straightforward and coating
thickness must be small
‹ Coating thickness variations can lead to spurious
signals - these can be minimised using arrays

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 INSPECTION THROUGH COATINGS

Example of inspection through epoxy coatings

- one man operation
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 HIGH & LOW TEMPERATURE
APPLICATIONS
TSC have developed systems that can operate at high temperatures
>500oC without any need for cooling. ACFM can also be used for
Low Temperature inspections (-20oC )without modification
Systems are available for:
‹ Crack Detection (scanning)
‹ Crack Monitoring (sensors fixed in place)

For these applications, ACFM Provides:

‹ Potential for large cost savings by avoiding the need to shut
down the plant for inspection

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 Limitations of ACFM
‹ Should only be used for surface breaking cracks
‹ Sizing models available for some materials but not
all - new ones being developed all the time
‹ Sizing models are based on planar cracks and so
will not work on complex branched cracks
‹ Scanning with simple probes is in expected
direction of cracking. Transverse cracks should
still be detected but can’t be sized without another
scan

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 Instruments for single probe
ACFM Operation
‹ TSC provide a range of instruments and
probes for manually deployed inspection.
‹ For ‘in air’ site operations, the new
TSC AMIGO provides portable, battery
powered instrumentation.
‹ For underwater inspection the Model U31
ACFM Crack Microgauge, rated to 350m, is
used with a range of probes and accessories.

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 TSC AMIGO Portable ACFM Instrument

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 Examples of Applications of
Manual ACFM

Inspection of Dock Cranes

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 Topsides Inspection

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 Offshore Rope Access

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 FPSO Inspection

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 Process Plant & Refinery Inspection
Different Materials
High / Low temperature
Paint Coatings
Different geometries

ALL CAN BE ACCOMODATED

BY ACFM

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 More Examples of Applications
for Manual ACFM

Theme Park rides to ……... Railway Axles

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 More Examples of Applications
for Manual ACFM

TV Mast to ……………. LPG Spheres

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 Underwater Inspection
‹ TSC have standard equipment for diver
deployed inspection. Uses exactly the same
principals as for ‘in air’ inspection.
‹ Max water depth 350m - can be used
offshore or in docks
‹ All data is transferred to the surface for
analysis by the ACFM operator.
‹ Requires less cleaning than conventional
methods for underwater inspection.
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 DIVER DEPLOYED ACFM SYSTEM
Deployment Schematic
Topside
Printer PC
Module

110v

350m
Umbilical

ACFM
Probe

Subsea
Module

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 Model U21 Underwater ACFM
Instrument

Diver deployed ACFM, now used

worldwide in the Oil & Gas Industry
for structural inspection.

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 New Smaller Model U31D Underwater
System now available

U21

U31

Significantly easier to deploy than the

original U21 model
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 Diver deployed ACFM

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New U31D
 Weld Probe with Position
Encoder
Standard Weld
Probe

Encoded Probe
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 Encoded Probe
Belt Drive to
Encoder

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 Benefits of encoded weld probe
‹ Presents data with respect to a known
position datum
‹ Reduced Wear
‹ Rapid crack sizing
‹ No need for repeat crack sizing scans
‹ Array capability
‹ Twin Field capability
‹ Uses new ASSIST Lite software
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 ACFM Arrays
‹ Manual inspection probes inspect a narrow
strip, centred on the probe sensors.
‹ In some situations it is desirable to cover
wider areas with a probe.
‹ ACFM array probes contain a number of
sensors. In this way, larger areas can be
covered either by scanning a 1 dimensional
array or statically using a 2D array.

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 Scanned ACFM Array inspect a
wider area than single probes
Single probe inspects a
narrow strip

Array probe inspects

wide strip

Multiple sensors
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 ROV Inspection with ACFM
‹ There are basically two options:
z Replace diver with a manipulator and use diver
type probes
z Design probes or deployment frames that make
less reliance on ROV dexterity

‹ ACFM has now been used with more than a

dozen different workclass ROV/Manipulator
configurations in water depths down to 500m

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 Considerations when using large
ROVs
‹ Hard marine growth needs to be removed
‹ The probe needs to be held steady in position for
5-10 seconds
‹ The probe needs to then be moved to an adjacent
position in order to build up a complete scan of the
chosen area
‹ Holding a large vehicle steady in shallow water
can be difficult due to current and tides

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 ROV RIGID ARRAY PROBE

Rigid array built for deployment by ROV, fitted

with a stainless steel nose for impact protection.
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 RIGID ARRAY PROBE FITTED ONTO A
WORK CLASS ROV

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 ROV Arrays designed for Norske-Shell -
Incorporated suction cups to hold the probe steady
while the data was taken

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 Deepwater ACFM - 490m

Manipulator Scan Scanning Frame

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 ROV Operation Modeling

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 Twin Field Arrays
‹ Standard probes have a single field and so are
directional. If you want to characterise defects in
more than 1 direction you need to scan in more
than 1 direction
‹ Array probes can be fitted with twin fields. This
allows inspection in two directions with a single
scan
‹ Very useful for scanning large areas or where
multidirectional cracking exists

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 Inspection of aluminium bronze
thruster blades
An area measuring 300mm x 300mm
currently requires 42 manual scans to
inspect in both directions. An array probe
provides the same coverage in just 7 scans.
TSC have now developed an Underwater
Array Probe for this application

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 MECHANISED SYSTEMS
TSC have developed a number of mechanised systems for
automated/semi automated inspection

BENEFITS

‹ Reduce the operator requirement

‹ Can be fitted with feedback for position reporting
‹ Interpretation can be automated to reduce the operator
skill requirement
‹ Removes operator from hazardous areas
‹ Reduces operator boredom in repetitive tasks

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 SCANNED ARRAY PROBE
This probe contains a row of
8 sensors arranged along the
probe. When this is scanned
around a pipe it inspects a
circumferential strip.
Developed for inspecting
Titanium pipe and installed in
a mechanised system

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 Titanium Riser Inspection System

Automated ACFM Array Inspection System

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 ACFM Array probes for the
nuclear industry

Scanned array probe Array probe for robotic deployment

ACFM 2002 51 Radiation Hardened System

 Alternative data display from an
array probe

Plan of inspected area showing crack

depth

Plan of inspected area showing crack

end signals

Arrays give the opportunity for additional displays. The

butterfly plot has been replaced by a plan view showing
clearly the defect location within the area covered by the
probe.
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 Array Probes for different
geometries
Probes can be built to
suit particular
applications. This probe
has been delivered to a
client who needed to
inspect turbine discs.
These can be used with
TSCs AMIGO

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 Array Probes for different
geometries
Probes can be built to
suit particular
applications. This probe
has been developed
specifically for the
inspection of sloped
furnace wall tubes in
coal fired power stations

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 Thread Inspection
‹ ACFM can be used to inspect a variety of
component shapes.
‹ ACFM is now used widely for inspecting threaded
components and in particular, those used in the oil
and gas industry.
‹ Standard instrumentation can be used to manually
inspect threads and special probes are available for
this application.
‹ Automated ACFM Thread Inspection systems are
also available.
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 MANUAL THREAD INSPECTION

Manual Inspection of a Inspection of a titanium stud using a

drillpipe thread single probe in a special purpose jig

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 AUTOMATED THREAD INSPECTION
FOR DRILLPIPE

‹ Thread surfaces difficult to clean to bright metal

‹ Access to female threads is difficult
‹ Operator interpretation of MPI very subjective
‹ Large components difficult to manipulate

‹ An ACFM inspection system can use an array probe above the

uncleaned surface and can traverse the full thread. On-line data
interpretation gives detection and sizing automatically -
WITHOUT ANY OPERATOR INTERPRETATION

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 ATI PIN PROBE ON DRILLPIPE THREAD

The probe head contains position encoder and

shoulder proximity gauge to ensure data quality and
allow automated data analysis
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 ATI Box Probe

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 Automated Pass/Fail

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 ACFM Approvals
‹ ACFM has been accepted by all major
offshore Classification Societies including
z Det Norske Veritas
z Bureau Veritas
z Lloyds Register
z OCB / Germanischer Lloyd
z American Bureau of Shipping

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 ABS Hull Inspection

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 New ASTM Standard Practice -
2003

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 Plans for including ACFM into new
NACE document for wet H2S cracking

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 Cost Savings with ACFM
‹ Because ACFM does not require coating
removal and re-application, large cost
savings can be achieved compared to
conventional inspection techniques.
‹ The ability to deploy probes using rope
access methods means that expensive
scaffolding can be avoided.
‹ Inspections can be conducted on live plant
thereby reducing shut-down time.
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 Examples of Cost Savings Reported
‹ PETROBRAS have reported cost savings in excess of
$2,000,000 by switching from MPI to ACFM for subsea
inspection
‹ Longview have reported cost reductions in excess of 60%
on process plant inspection when switching from MPI to
ACFM
‹ MQS have reported 60% cost savings with ACFM during
Petrochemical plant inspections
‹ ETRS have suggested savings of Au$1.5m using new
scanned array probes for furnace wall tube inspection

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 Process Plant Savings Courtesy Longview

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 Process Plant Savings Courtesy Longview

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 Improved Efficiency with ACFM
‹ Less reliance on operator improves overall
reliability of inspection.
‹ Data is available for review by a third party
without need for reinspection.
‹ Data available electronically for audit and
integration into plant management software.
‹ Information on crack depth means resources
can be prioritised.

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 Other TSC Technology

‹ Proximity Sensing - has been used for pipe

ovality measurement or marine fouling
thickness gauging - diver deployed or ROV

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 Proximity Sensing
‹ TSC have developed a number of probes for
proximity sensing
‹ These have been successfully deployed by
ROV for:
– Marine Fouling Measurement
– Pipe ovality measurement

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 Pipe ovality Measurement

The sensor is held in a frame which allows it to be

scanned at a fixed circumference. By taking
measurements during the scan, the difference between
the diameter of the frame and the diameter of the pipe
can be calculated to give out of roundness.
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 Pipe ovality Measurement

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 Measurement of marine fouling
Caliper Measure

Member

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 Marine Fouling Probe

These probes can make spot measurements

of fouling up to 300mm thick
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 Operator Training & Certification
‹ ‘General’ ACFM Training is currently
available through TWI in the UK - now
EN473 compliant
‹ Operator Certification is available through
TWI under Lloyds and CSWIP Schemes
‹ Walking Stick specific training scheme has
been set up under the CSWIP scheme
(EN473 compliant) and is available through
TWI
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 Summary
‹ TSC’s ACFM technique represents a significant
advance in inspection technology.
‹ Applications range from ‘simple’ manual scanning
through to complex automated and semi-automated
systems.
‹ Fully automatic systems can provide simple PASS-
FAIL reporting for specific applications.
‹ ACFM offers improved reliability and significant cost
benefits compare to conventional inspection methods.

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 Contacts
TSC INSPECTION SYSTEMS
6 Mill Square
Featherstone Rd
Wolverton Mill
Milton Keynes
MK12 5RB
England

Tel. +44 (0) 1908 317444

Fax. +44 (0) 1908 220959
Email sales@tscinspectionsystems.com
www. tscinspectionsystems.com
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