Cleaning High-Velocity
Gas Pipelines Without
Schneke Bruns
By Daniel Schneke and Michael Bruns, Product Management Field Products & Services, RTRC Germany
G
as transportation pipelines convey
large volumes of product in a cost-
efficient manner, with gas veloci-
ties typically exceeding 25 feet per
second (fps). The cleanliness of these pipe-
lines is crucial to maintaining the stability of
the network and to keeping downtime low.
Even the smallest amount of debris accu-
mulations can reduce the efficiency of
transportation. However, cleaning opera-
tions often require more moderate flow
velocities to ensure safe tool travel and
acceptable cleaning performance.
This imbalance confronts operators with
the difficult decision to either reduce flow
during cleaning runs, which means cutting
back on production output, or to maintain
production, while increasing potential safe-
ty risks associated with propelling cleaning
tools at high velocities, notwithstanding the
associated reduced cleaning effectiveness
likely under these conditions.
Since neither choice is suitable for efficient
and commercially effective pipeline operations,
a reliable reduction of tool velocity, which
allows high-flow conditions, is required.
Taking into account the special require-
ments of high-velocity gas pipelines,
ROSEN introduced the Cleaning EcoSpeed
Service, which ensures operational safety
and optimal cleaning performance without
compromising the gas flow rates.
The service tool features a mechanical
speed-reduction technology driven by dif-
ferential pressure. This technology is excep-
tionally adaptive to individual high-velocity
gas networks with pipeline diameters of 16
inches and above. Pipeline operation can
continue without cutbacks or downtime,
thus allowing full flow potential.
The speed-reduction mechanism readjusts
its individual bypass position according to
the differential pressure and volume flow. A
variety of springs and a hydraulic suspension
system absorb the kinetic energy and differen-
tial pressure peaks. This ensures a consistent
tool velocity along the pre-defined differential
pressure range of the EcoSpeed Service.
Significance of Bypass
Looking at a pipeline system, the pro-
Flow Reduction
pellant – ideally the medium itself – is
required to exert enough pressure at the
back of the tool to overcome flow losses
over the entire length of the pipeline.
Furthermore, the tool needs to overcome
the friction between its different elements
(sealing discs, guiding discs, brushes,
etc.) and the pipeline wall. These friction
forces, which are always directed against
the flow direction, cause a pressure drop
between the tool’s front and rear.
This differential pressure allows for a
part of the volume flow to be directed
through the tool body and exit at the front,
provided there is an opening. The ratio
between the bypass opening and the differ-
ential pressure determines the throughput of
product through the tool body.
However, this differential-pressure
ratio changes during the run, depend-
ing on the operational conditions. For
example, during launching activities, the
tool needs to overcome a static friction
force or “stiction.” Similar forces or dif-
ferential pressures can occur if the tool
passes ID restrictions or accumulations of
debris at the front during the run. During
normal cleaning operations, a moderate
differential pressure range around the tool
Figure 1: The EcoSpeed Service enables cleaning operations at an optimal tool speed of
7-11 mph.
Friction
Bypass
Friction
Figure 2: The ratio between the bypass opening and the differential pressure at the tool’s front
and rear determines the throughput of product through the tool body.
can be expected.
The bypass flow through the tool will
adhere to these portrait conditions and
vary, depending on the differential pres-
sure. The lower the friction, the lower the
differential pressure, hence the resulting
bypass flow.
Under optimal operation conditions, fric-
tion and gravity (when the tool is running
through a section with an incline) are the
only forces that apply an additional resis-
tance to the propellant medium. The dif-
ferential pressure generates a relative flow
that passes through the tool. Figure 2 is a
visualization that demonstrates this behavior.
The speed-reduction mechanism of the
tool replicates this exact phenomenon to
ensure a constant tool velocity, independent
of the actual flow behavior in the pipeline.
Development Phase
In order to assess the required bypass
control requirements for the tool, a study
was conducted that evaluated the flow char-
acteristics under operational conditions.
The analyses of the pressure and force dis-
tribution, as well as an examination of the
velocities surrounding the bypass flow, were
done through computational fluid dynamics
www.pgjonline.com
| 57
(CFD) using SolidWorks and ANSYS simu-
lation software.
CFD is a branch of fluid mechanics that
uses certain algorithms or other numerical
formulas to analyze and solve problems
that involve the fluids flow. Similar to
aerodynamic research, which uses a wind
tunnel to study the effects of air moving past
solid objects, CFD software can be used to
visualize and investigate the fluid dynamic
behavior of virtual models using computer-
aided design (CAD).
Instead of using a physical object, the
volume of interest is fractionized into many
small cells and summed up individually by
the computed equation. These results are
used to create a direct link between the dif-
ferential pressure behavior of the tool itself
and the pipeline it should run in.
The modeling of the bypass flow of the
EcoSpeed tool was carried out and con-
sidered these boundary conditions during
pipeline operation.
To verify the simulations, a scaled
prototype was later flow-tested at an
independent third-party facility in San
Antonio. The tool’s valve mechanism
was fixed into a spool piece. The testing
SPY® Field Proven Reliable 60 Years Under the Most Extreme Conditions
Pipeline Inspection Company
Phone : (713) 681-5837
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58 | Pipeline & Gas Journal • August 2017
was conducted in a high-pressure loop,
where transmission-quality natural gas
was used as a medium.
The gas composition and conditions
were monitored throughout the entire
sequence. Multiple measuring units and
probes behind, in front of, and surrounding
the test piece were continuously monitored
for changes in pressure, flow and tempera-
ture. High-speed and low-speed transmit-
ters were used to measure the differential
pressure across the test fixture.
The low-speed transmitters were set to
acquire data at a frequency of 1 Hz and the
high-speed transmitter was set to acquire
data at a frequency of over 1,600 Hz. Two
different low-speed transmitters were used
to cover the full range of pressures.
The low-speed transmitters were ranged
from 0-9 psi and from 0-36 psi; the high-
speed transmitter was ranged from 0-50 psi.
The flow rate through the test section was
monitored using a turbine flow meter that was
installed downstream from the test section.
The turbine meter reported the actual
volumetric flow rate of the gas. Temperature
and pressure were measured at the flow
meter location so gas properties could be
calculated. The accuracy of the turbine
meter flow measurement was within 0.5%.
During testing, the flow was gradually
increased and again decreased to replicate
operational flow conditions.
To determine the entire differential pres-
sure behavior, it was essential to include
simulations of different scenarios during
flow testing that might affect the product
flow during a pipeline-cleaning operation.
Scenarios such as launching, passing of a
restriction and debris accumulations were
simulated by adjusting the flow conditions
according to reference values taken during
actual pipeline-cleaning operations.
The variable bypass mechanism of the
EcoSpeed tool adjusts itself to these circum-
stances and controls the bypass volume flow
accordingly. An intelligent combination of
the aerodynamically shaped valve structure
and various spring mechanisms allows for the
transported gas to bypass the tool with optimal
flow when a set differential pressure range is
established during the run. In this way, the tool
is slowed down to the ideal velocity to achieve
optimal pipeline cleanliness.
Once the differential pressure of the tool
increases, due to high amounts of debris
Below zero or insane heat
conditions, over under and
across some of the world’s
most difficult terrain, for
decades Pipeline Inspection
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Our SPY® Holiday Detectors
have been buried, dropped
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When your project takes you to
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 5HVHUYH<RXU6HDW7RGD\

12th Annual

Pipeline Development and

Expansion Conference
Locating Demand and Expanding Infrastructure in a Challenging and Changing
Public Landscape
September 7-8, 2017 | The Houstonian Hotel | Houston, Texas

Hear Pipeline Industry Perspectives from
Experienced Speakers, including:
– David Murk, American Pipeline Institute
– George Felcyn and Michael Weller, Bracewell LLP
– Christine Tezak, Clearview Energy Partners
– George Stark, Cabot Oil & Gas
– John Rudiak, Connecticut Natural Gas & Southern
Connecticut Gas (Avangrid LDCs)
– Lyle A. Henry, Dominion Transmission, Inc.
– N. Jonathan Peress, Environmental Defense Fund
– Paula Swain, Export-Import Bank
– C.J. Osman, INGAA
– Jeff Welch, NAmerico Partners LP
– James G. Holodak, Jr., National Grid
– Karen Iampen, Repsol
– Nicole Leonard, Tyler Jubert, and Travis Whalen,
S&P Global Platts
– Kenneth W. Irvin, Sidley Austin LLP
– Chris Shorts, Union Gas
– Arlin Travis, WhiteWater Midstream LLC
What Impact Will a New US Administration
Make on the Pipeline Industry?
Moderator: Michael Weller, Associate, Bracewell LLP
C.J. Osman, Director of Operations, Safety and Integrity,
Interstate Natural Gas Association of America
David Murk, Pipeline Manager,
American Pipeline Institute
Christine Tezak, Managing Director, Research,
Clearview Energy Partners
CASE STUDY: Atlantic Coast Pipeline—Working with
Land Owners and Regulators
Lyle A. Henry
Manager, Gas Business Development,
Power Generation Solutions,
Dominion Transmission, Inc.
New This Year—Bracewell and Cabot Oil and Gas Team
Up to Run a Workshop on Building Pipeline Support
from the Grassroots

Executive Sponsors: Supported By:

GAS DAILY OILGRAM NEWS

www.platts.com/pipeline
Register registration@platts.com
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+1 212-904-3070 (outside USA & Canada) Registration Code: PD732PGJA
or other obstacles, the mechanism restricts
the bypass and the tool is then capable
of pushing debris through the line. This
enables the tool to maintain continuous
travel in the System.l.
Restricted bypass volume flow through
the tool body (about 5% in flushing position)
helps keep the tool moving when it encoun-
ters higher debris volumes. Passages that
increase the differential pressure result in
temporary acceleration of the tool, but after
stabilization of the differential pressure, the
tool slows down to its optimal speed.
The results and measurements of the
prototype tests were used to trim the CFD
simulations and to allow improvements
to be made to the actual variable bypass
Commissioning
Dewatering
Paraffin scraping
Condensate removal
FOAM DISC PIG
Steel wire brush
Rounded nose
Medium or heavy density foam :: Transmitter cavities :: Gauging plates ::By-pass ports
Copyright 2015
Knapp Polly Pig, Inc. www.pollypig.com
All rights reserved
60 | Pipeline & Gas Journal • August 2017
mechanism.
36-Inch Pipeline
The EcoSpeed tool enables operators to
maintain optimal production flow during the
cleaning operations, which in the past posed
a serious challenge. The technology allows
high bypass flow rates to be maintained
while reducing tool speeds significantly.
For a better understanding of the cost-
saving potential during a cleaning run using
the tool for an 86.28-mile, 36-inch pipeline
flowing at 950,000 scfm with the medium
exerting a pressure of 1,200 psi:
In this example, the tool runs for 9.64
hours (based on an assumed average tool
run speed of 8.95 mph) at a differen-
The Original Manufacturer of the
Quality-built in Houston, Texas
for over 25 years
Available options:
E-mail: knapp@pollypig.com
tial pressure of about 1.45-4.35 psi and
releases between 36.6-59.2% (347,241-
562,356 scfm) of gas through the valve
within this range.
On the basis of the U.S. Natural Gas
Industrial Price at $3.87/1,000 cf, this trans-
lates into $1,344 - $2,176 per minute or
between $776,730 - $1,257,912 per run,
which demonstrates a direct and valuable
benefit for the operator.
The EcoSpeed tool can be equipped with
various brushes, magnets, gauge plates,
bend plates, tracking equipment and pipe-
line data loggers for direct cleaning feed-
back. P&GJ
Bi-Directional
Single piece body
Plastic brush
Extended-Length
1209 Hardy Street
Houston, TX 77020
Tel: (713) 222-0146
Tel: (800) 231-7205
Fax: (713) 222-7403
CPC Finishes Smart Pigging Project
I
n June, smart pigging was completed on
two sections of the Tengiz-Novorossiysk
oil pipeline. The work was performed in
Kalmykia and the Stavropol Region.
The lengths of the sections pigged were 275
km and 206 km, respectively.
Inline inspection was carried out with three
types of inspection pigs run through the oil
pipeline. A multichannel geometry tool allowed
to check for faults in pipeline geometry (dents,
corrugations, ovality) and verify bend radiuses.
High-resolution magnetic inspection pigs were
used to determine locations and assess the
extent of defects oriented across the oil pipe-
line. And finally, ultrasonic inspection tools
were used to look for such defects as corrosion,
stratification, and scratch marks.
A similar inline inspection was recently
performed on a more than 250-km-long
section of the Tengiz-Novorossiysk pipeline
in the Krasnodar Region. A technical report
and an industrial safety expert opinion will
be prepared based on inspection results.
Special to Pipeline & Gas Journal
Any defects found by smart pigging will be – 19% and Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures
fixed as part of scheduled repairs. LLC – 1.75%); Chevron Caspian Pipeline
Inline inspection of trunk pipelines is a con- Consortium Co. – 15%; LUKARCO B.V. –
tinuous and comprehensive effort. Systematic 12.5%; Mobil Caspian Pipeline Co. – 7.5%;
inspection of the technical condition of the Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited –
Tengiz-Novorossiysk oil pipeline is one of 7.5%; BG Overseas Holding Limited - 2%,
the priority tasks engaged by CPC to ensure Eni International N.A. N.V. – 2%; and Oryx
a high level of industrial and environmental Caspian Pipeline LLC – 1.75%. P&GJ
safety and mitigate emergency risks.
The CPC pipeline system is one of the larg-
est investment projects in the energy industry
with participation of foreign capital in the CIS.
The length of the pipeline connecting the oil
fields in western Kazakhstan with the marine
terminal near Novorossiysk is 1,511 km. CPC
Marine Terminal is equipped with single-point
moorings which allow for safe tanker loading
at a considerable distance from the shore, and
also when weather conditions are unfavorable.
CPC Shareholders include the Russian
Federation (represented by Transneft – 24%
of and CPC Company – 7%); Republic of
Kazakhstan (represented by KazMunayGaz
www.pgjonline.com
| 61
THE PPSA BUYERS’ GUIDE PIGGING
SERVICES
SERVICES
PRODUCTS
PIGGINGPIGGING
PRODUCTS
SERVICES
&
PRODUCTS
&
&
ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION
&
ASSOCIATION
SERVICES ASSOCIATION
A breakdown of the products and services provided by the
Members will be found on the previous three pages. The BUYERS’
BUYERS’
BUYERS’
BUYERS’ GUIDE
GUIDE GUIDE
A–J

Services Ltd
Ltd

Oilfield Services Ltd

A.Hak Industrial Services BV

Services BV
following is an explanation of some of the less well known Note:
Note: Inspection
Inspection
Note: companies
Inspection
companies companies
can can

Pipeline Products
Products

Pipeline Products
Oilfield Services
terms and items which are listed: generally
generally arrange
arrange
generally
for
forarrange
the pipeline
for the
to
topipeline
be
be to be
cleaned/prepared
cleaned/prepared
cleaned/prepared
prior
prior to inspection.
inspection.
prior to inspection.
1. “Utility pigs” are used for a variety of purposes such as

Alchemy Oilfield

A.Hak Industrial
Pipeline
●
● Manufacturer
Manufacturer
● Manufacturer
and/or and/or

Group
ApacheGroup
internal pipe wall cleaning, condensate removal, water fill

RTD
AlchemyRTD
Service
Service Company
Company
Service Company

Alchemy
for pressure testing, gauging, dewatering, drying, commis-

Apache
Apache
Applus
Applus
Aubin
Aubin
sioning etc. There are many different types available for use s Distributor
s Distributor
s Distributor
in uni-directional, bi-directional and multidiameter pipe- Mandrel
Mandrel pigs pigs
Mandrel pigs ●
● ●
lines. Utility pigs have been divided into the four different Foam
Foam pigspigs Foam pigs ●
● ●

PIPELINE
PIPELINE

PIPELINE
Solid
Solid cast
cast pigs
Solid
pigs cast pigs

PIGS
PIGS

PIGS
●
● ●
forms in which they are made:
Spheres
Spheres Spheres
a) “Mandrel pigs” are assembled from a number of compo- Hyperbaric
HyperbaricHyperbaric
spheres spheres
High
High DP DP (plugging)
(plugging)
High DP (plugging)
pigs pigs
nent parts, and spare parts are available.
Pig
Pig signals
signalsPig – intrusive
signals – intrusive ●
● ●
b) “Foam pigs” are moulded from polyurethane foam with Pig
Pig signals
signalsPig – non-intrusive
non-intrusive
signals – non-intrusive

PIGGING COMPONENTS
COMPONENTS

PIPELINE PIGGING COMPONENTS

s
s s
various configurations of solid polyurethane strips and/ Pig
Pig signals
signalsPig – subsea
signals – subsea ●
● ●
Pig
Pig locaters
locaters Pig– onshore
locaters – onshore ●
● ●
or wire bristles, studs etc. permanently bonded to them.
Pig
Pig locaters
locaters Pig– offshore
locaters – offshore

AND EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT

AND EQUIPMENT
c) “Solid cast pigs” are moulded in one piece – usually Pig/sphere
Pig/sphere Pig/sphere
traps traps
Closures
Closures & &Closures
Interlocks & Interlocks
from polyurethane.

PIPELINE PIGGING
Pig/sphere
Pig/sphere Pig/sphere
launch valves launch valves
d) “Spheres” are hollow balls, usually made from polyure- Sphere
Sphere launch
launch
Sphere pins/flaps
launch pins/flaps
thane and inflated to the optimum diameter with water/ Sphere
Sphere flowflowSphere
tees flow tees

AND
Diverters
Diverters Diverters
glycol. PIPELINE Convergers
ConvergersConvergers
(Wyes) (Wyes)
2. “Hyperbaric spheres” and “High DP pigs” are used mainly Pig
Pig handling
handling Pigsystems
handling systems
on subsea pipelines as a temporary plug while the two ends Pig
Pig Suspension
SuspensionPig Suspension
Systems Systems
Sphere
Sphere lifters
lifters
Sphere lifters
of the line are welded together. Testing
Testing Testing ●● ● ● ● ●
3. “Pig signals” indicate the passage of a pig. Intrusive types Drying
Drying Drying ●● ● ● ● ● ●●
PIPELINE PIGGING
PIGGING

PIPELINE PIGGING

Commissioning
Commissioning Commissioning ●● ● ● ● ● ●●
are mechanically actuated via a trigger or plunger which
Cleaning
Cleaning ––Cleaning
general – general ●● ● ● ● ● ●●
protrudes into the line. Non-intrusive and subsea signals
SERVICES
SERVICES

SERVICES

Cleaning
Cleaning ––Cleaning
pre-inspection
– pre-inspection
●● ● ● ● ● ●●
may employ magnetic, ultrasonic or radioactive Gel
Gel pigging
piggingGel pigging ●● ● ● ● ● ●●
PIPELINE

techniques. Slug
Slug (batch)
(batch) Sluginhibition
(batch) inhibition● ● ● ● ● ● ●●
Insitu
Insitu internal
internal
Insituline
internal
coatingline coating
●● ●
4. “Pig locators” are used to locate a pig which may or may Pig
Pig tracking/locating
tracking/locating
Pig tracking/locating ● ● s●
s s
not be in motion. Isolating/plugging
Isolating/plugging
Isolating/plugging ●● ● ● ● ● ●●
Pipeline
Pipeline repair
repair
Pipeline repair ●● ● ●●
5. “Sphere flow tees” are specially designed to allow a sphere Metal
Metal loss/corrosion
loss/corrosion
Metal loss/corrosion
(MFL)
(MFL) (MFL)
●● ●
to pass an offtake without stalling. They may be called Metal
Metal loss/corrosion
loss/corrosion
Metal loss/corrosion
(UT) (UT)
●● ● ●
●
LINE INSPECTION
INSPECTION

IN LINE INSPECTION

simply “Sphere tees” or “Flow tees”. Metal

Metal loss/corrosion
loss/corrosion
Metal loss/corrosion
(other)
(other) (other)
●● ● ●
●
Geometry
Geometry Geometry ●● ● ●
●
6. “Sphere lifters” are usually in the form of tongs or suction
SERVICES
SERVICES

SERVICES

Crack
Crack detection
detection
Crack detection ●● ● ●
●
devices. Leak
Leak detection
detection
Leak detection ●● ● ●
●
Photographic/video
Photographic/video
Photographic/video ● ● ● ●
●
7. “Pig suspension systems” are designed to keep a pig in the
IN LINE

Bend
Bend detection
detection
Bend detection ●● ● ●
●
centre of a pipeline. They usually comprise spring-loaded Profile/Mapping
Profile/MappingProfile/Mapping ●● ● ●
●
skids or wheels and are used for inline inspection tools, or
IN

Spanning/line
Spanning/line Spanning/line
cover cover ●
●
other relatively heavy pigs, and in multi-diameter Smart
Smart Utility
Utility
SmartPigging
Utility Pigging ● ● ● ●
●
pipelines. Feasibility
Feasibility Feasibility
studies studies ●● ● ●
●
INDUSTRIAL CONSULTANCY
CONSULTANCY

INDUSTRIAL CONSULTANCY

Pig/system
Pig/systemPig/system
design design ●● ● ●
●
SERVICS
SERVICS

SERVICS

8. There are two main methods of finding metal loss (corro- Pig
Pig development
development
Pig development ●● ● ●
●
sion): Magnetic flux leakage (MFL) and ultrasonics (UT). Pig
Pig testing/trials
testing/trials
Pig testing/trials ●● ● ●
●
Another emerging technology involves the use of eddy Defect
Defect assessment
assessment
Defect assessment ●● ● ●
●
Fitness
Fitness forforFitness
purposeforassess
assess
purpose assess
●● ● ●
●
currents. Safety
Safety Safety ●● ● ●
●
Pigs
Pigs Pigs ●
● ●
● ● ●●●
INDUSTRIAL
PIGGING
PIGGING

PIGGING

Components/fittings
Components/fittings
Components/fittings
Further, more detailed information on pigs and pigging will be Controls
Controls Controls
found in the PPSA book entitled: “An Introduction to Pipeline System
System Design
Design
System Design ●● ●
Pigging”. Contact ppsa@ppsa-online.com for details. Installation
InstallationInstallation ●● ●

62 | Pipeline & Gas Journal • August 2017

 de CV & Tank Services
LLC Advanced Pipeline & Tank Services

LIN SCAN Advanced Pipeline & Tank Services

GOTTSBERG Leak Detection GmbH & Co KG
GmbH & Co KG

LLCKG
Gulf Petrochemical Services & Trading LLC

LLC
& Pipeline Services
Group Process & Pipeline Services

Pipeline Services

Trading& Co

Halliburton (Pipeline & Process Services)

Services)

Halliburton (Pipeline & Process Services)

& Trading
China Petroleum Pipeline Inspection
Inspection

ServicesInspection

Services &GmbH
Dacon Inspection Services Co. Ltd
Co. Ltd

Services Co. Ltd

& Co. KGBV

& Process

SA Pipeline
Enduro Pipeline Services, Inc
Services, Inc

Bhd Inc

Global GmbH & Co. KG

AS Solutions Ltd
Solutions Ltd

In-Line Pigging Solutions Ltd

Sdn Detection

Leak Detection
CDRiA Pipeline Services Ltd
Services& Ltd

PipelineLtd

Halliburton (PipelineServices

Safety Systems
ASNacional, SA de CV

Limpro Nacional, SA de CV
Services,
InspectionPipeline
Pipeline Services

Eureka Efektif Sdn Bhd

Bhd
DSV Pipetronix Limited
Limited

PipelineLimited
Hughes Process

PipelineProcess

Inc ™

Matthey ™

iNPIPE PRODUCTS™

Advanced
PRODUCTS
iNPIPE PRODUCTS

bv Inc
KnappASPolly Pig Inc

Knapp Polly Pig Inc

NDT Global GmbH

Gulf Petrochemical

Petrochemical
PipelineSdn

EfektifLeak

Pigging Inc

Inline Services Inc

EntegraInspection

Nacional,
Ltd
RTD Ltd

CDI Technical Ltd

Matthey

Johnson Matthey
Girard Industries
Girard Industries

Industries
China Petroleum

Dacon Petroleum

I2i Pipelines Ltd

AS Ltd

I2i Pipelines Ltd

Knapp Polly Pig

GD Engineering
GD Engineering

Engineering

IKM Testing AS

IKM Testing AS

bv

Kleiss & Co. bv

DSV Pipetronix

Pipetronix

Pigging
Inline Services
iNPIPEServices
Aubin Hughes

Baker Hughes

Eureka Efektif
Technical
Technical

GOTTSBERG

GOTTSBERG
Halfwave AS
AS

I2i Pipelines
Entegra LLP
LLP

LLP

Kleiss & Co.

Co.
Testing

Netherlocks
SCAN
LIN SCAN
CEPS a.s.
CEPS a.s.

a.s.

Halfwave

Halfwave

LTS, LLC

LTS, LLC
IK-Group
IK-Group

IK-Group

Johnson
Johnson
&

KTN AS
Entegra
Enduro

Enduro

Limpro
Limpro
In-Line
In-Line
Eureka
Applus

CDRiA

CDRiA

Dacon

Girard

Kleiss
China
Baker
Baker

CEPS

Inline

NDT
KTN
KTN

LTS,
DSV

IKM
Gulf
CDI

CDI

LIN
GD
BG
BG

BG

●● ●● ● ● ●● ss ss
● ●s
● s ●● ● ● ● ●s ss● s●s● s ●●●s ss●s●s●●s● ● ●● ●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●
●● ss ● s ●● ss ss
● ss s ss s s ● ●s ss● s●s● s ●●●s ss●s●s●●s● ● ●● ●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●
●● ●● ● ● ●● ss ss
● ●s
● s s● s s ● ●s ss● s●s● s ●●●s ss●s●s●●s● ● ●● ●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●
●● ●● ● ● ss ss ss s ss s ●s● ● ●s● ss●s●s● s ●●●s s ● sss● ● s ●● ●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●
ss ss s s ss s ●● ● s s● ● s ●●●s s ● s ● ● s●s s ● ● ●
ss ●● s ● ss s ●● ● s s● ● s ●●●s s ● sss● ● s ●● ●
● ●● ● ● ● ●
ss ss s s ●● ss
● ●● s ● ● ● s●ss s s ●s● ●●●s s ● sss● ● s s●ss s s ss s ss s s
ss ss s s ●
●● ss ss ●s
● s ● ● ● ● ● s● ss● s s ●s● ●●●s s ● ●s●s s ● ssss s s ss s ss s s
ss ●● s ● ss s ●● s●s s● ● ●●●s s ● sss● ● s s●s s s s s
s
s ●● ●● ● ●
s ●● ● ss
●● ● ●s
ss ● s s● s ●s● s ss● s s ●s● ●●●s s ● sss● ● s s●ss s s ss s● ●s ●

BUYERS’ GUIDE K–Z OVERLEAF

s
s ss s s ●
●● ss ss ss s ss s sss s● ● ●●●s s ● sss● ● s s●ss ss s ● ● ●
s
s ●● s ● ●● ●● ss
● ● ss s ●● ●ss ●s● ●●●s s ● sss● ● s s●s s ● ● ●● ●
s
s ss s s ss ss s ●● s●ss s s ●s● ●s s sss● ● s s●s s ● ● ●● ●●
s
s s ●● ss ● ss s s ss sss s s ●s● ●s s sss ss s s s s s
ss s ●● ●ss ●s● ●s s sss● ● s s●s s ● ● ●
ss s ss ●s● ●●●s s ● sss● ● s s●s s ● ● ●
ss s ● ● ●●●s s ● sss● ● s s●s s
ss s ● ● ●s s sss ss s s ● ● ●
s
s ●● s ● ●● ss ● ●s
● s●
s ●s● s ss● ssss●s● s ●●●s s ● sss● ● s s●s s ● ● ●● ●
ss s ●● s● s ●s● ●s s s s s s ● ● ●
ss s ss ss s ss s ● ●s s ● sss● ● s s●s s
●● ●● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●● ● ● ●● ●●● ●●● ●●●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
●● ●●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●● ● ● ● ● ●●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
●● ●●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ● ● ● ● ●●● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●
●● ●●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● ● ●● ● ● ● ●● ●●●● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ●●● ● ● ●● ●●● ●● ●● ●
●● ●●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●● s●
s ●●● s ● ● ●● ●●●● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ●●● ● ● ●● ●●● ●● ●● ●
●● ●●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ● ● s s● ● s ● ● ● ●
●● ●●
● ● ● ●● ●● ● ● s
●● ss ● ●s s●●● s ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ●● ●● ●
●● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
●● ●● ●● ● ●
● ●● ● ●●
●● ●● ●● s●
s ●●● s ●● ● ●●●● ●●●● ● ●●●● ●●●●s●s●●●●s● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ●● ●
●● ●●
● ● ● ●● ●● ● ● ss ●s● ●●● ●●● ●●●● ●●●● ● ●●● ●
●● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ● ● ss s ● ● ● ● ●s s●●● s ● ● ● ● s s s
●● ●● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●●● s●
s ● s ss s s s s s s s ● ● ●● ●
●●
● ●● ● ●●
● ● ●● ●● ● ● s s s ss s s s s s s ●s ● ●● ● ●● ●
● ●● ● ●● ●● ● ● s s s s s● ● s ●●● s●s s ● ●s s ● ●s ● ●● ● ●● ●
●●
● ●● ●
● ●● ● ●●
●● ●● ●● ●●● s●
s ● s ● ●● ● ● ● s s s ● ●s s ● ●s ●● ●●● ●● ●● ●
● ●● ●
●● ● ●●
●● ●● ● ● s s s ● ● s●s s ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ●● ●
●●
● ●● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ● ● ●● s● s ●s●● ● ● ●●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ●
● ●● ●● ● ● s s s ● ●● ● ● ●●● ● s s ●s ● ●● ● s● s
●●
● ●● ●
● ●● ● ●●
●● ●● ●● ●●● s●
s ● ●s ● ● ● ●● ●●●● ● ●●● s●s ss s ●s ● ●● ● ●● ●
● ●● ●
●● ● ●●
●● ●● ●● ●●● s●
s ● ●s ● ● ● ●● ●●●● ● s●s sss ss s ●s ●
● ●●● ●● ●● ●
● ●● ● ●● ● ● ●● ● ● ● s s s s s s ● ● ●
●●
● ●● ● ● ●● ●● ● ● s s ●s● s● s ●s●● ● ● s●s ●s● ●s s ●s ● ●● ● ●● ●
●●
● ●● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ●●●● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ●● ● ●● ● ●● ●●
●●
● ●● ● ● ●● ●● ● ●● ● ● ●●
● ● ●● ● ● ● ●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ●● ●●
●●
● ●● ●
● ●● ● ●●
●● ●● ●● ●●● ●●
● ● ●● ● ● ● ●● ●●●●●●●●●● ● ●●●● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●
●●
● ●● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●●● ●●
● ● ●● ● ● ● ●● ●●●●●●●●●● ● ●●●● ● ● ●● ●
● ● ●● ● ●●
●● ● ●● ●● ●●
●●
● ●● ●
● ●● ●● ● ●●
●● ●● ● ●● ● ● ●● ● ● ●● ●●●● ● ●●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ●● ●
● ●● ●
●● ●● ● ●●
●● ●● ● s●s s ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ●● ●●
●●
● ● ●● ●● ●● ●● ● s●s s ss ●s● ● ● ● ● ●
●● ●●
● ● ● ●● ss ●● ●s
● ● ● ● ● ● ●s● ss●s●s●●s● ● s●ss s●s●●s● ● ●● ●
● ● ● ●● ●● ●● ●● ●
●● ● ●● ss ● ●s
ss ● s ● ● ● ● ● ● ●●● ●s s ●s●● ● ● ● s s● ●s ●● ●
●● ss ● s s
ss ● ● ● s s ●s●● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ●
●● ● ●● ●● ●● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ●●●●●●● ● ● ● ● ●● ●●
●● ● ●● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●●●● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ●

www.pgjonline.com
| 63
 PIGGING PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS &&

Pipeline & Tank Services

& Tank Services

GOTTSBERG Leak Detection GmbH & Co KG

GOTTSBERG Leak Detection GmbH & Co KG

SERVICES ASSOCIATION
SERVICES ASSOCIATION

Gulf Petrochemical Services & Trading LLC

KG Services

Pipeline Engineering & Supply Co. Limited

Gulf Petrochemical Services & Trading LLC
Halliburton (Pipeline & Process Services)

Halliburton (Pipeline & Process Services)

BUYERS’
BUYERS’ GUIDE K–Z
GUIDE

IntegrityInspection

& Co KGCo. Ltd

& Pipeline

Pigs Unlimited International, Inc

Sdn Bhd Inc

Netherlocks Safety Systems BV
Oceaneering Asset Integrity AS

CEPS a.s. Safety Systems BV

AS
Services Ltd

Inc
Co. bv Services BV

Oil Gas & Power Italia S.R.L.

In-Line Pigging Solutions Ltd

Pipeline
Enduro Pipeline Services, Inc

KG

3P Services GmbH & Co KG

Italia S.R.L.
& Co. Ltd
In-Line Pigging Solutions Ltd

Efektif International,
Nacional, SA de CV

Nacional, SA de CV
Note: Inspection companies can

GmbHServices
AS Pipeline Products

Sdn Services,
& Co.

AssetPipeline
Services
generally arrange for the pipeline to be
Eureka Efektif Sdn Bhd

& Power Limited

Eureka Efektif Sdn Bhd

Process
iNPIPE PRODUCTS™

PBJV Group Sdn Bhd

iNPIPE PRODUCTS™

PII Pipeline Solutions

Pipeline Cleaners Inc
Bhd
Advanced
cleaned/prepared prior to inspection.

Advanced
Pig Inc

Pig Inc

GmbH
Inline Services Inc

GmbH
Inline Services Inc

Inspection
LLC Ltd
Johnson Matthey
Girard Industries

China Petroleum
Matthey
I2i Pipelines Ltd

Oilfield
A.Hak &Industrial
Girard Industries

Pipeline
I2i Pipelines Ltd
GD Engineering

GD Engineering
IKM Testing AS

Pipeline

DSVGasPipetronix
GD Engineering

IKM Testing AS

& Co. bv

Pigtek Limited
Hughes

Unlimited
Limited
Manufacturer and/or

BG Technical
●
Halfwave AS

AubinASGroup

Entegra LLP
Halfwave AS

RTD
AlchemyPolly

Global

Oceaneering
Entegra LLP

EnduroGroup
Knapp Polly

Netherlocks
Global

Services
SCAN
Service Company

SCAN
IK-Group

CDI LLC
IK-Group

Penspen
Johnson

Penspen
Apache
Limpro

Eureka
Applus

CDRiA
Knapp

Dacon
Limpro
Kleiss

Baker

Pigtek
Kleiss

NDT

PBJV
KTN

LTS,
Distributor

NDT
KTN

LTS,
LIN
s

Pigs
LIN

3P
Oil
●● ● s● ● s Mandrel
●s s ●● pigs
s s● ●s ●s ● ●● ● ●● ●● ● ●
● ●
● s ● s
s s ●● ● ● ●●
● ●
ss s● ● s Foam
●s s pigs
●● s s● ●s ●s ●● ● ●● ●● ● ● s ● ● s s ●s s s ss ●
PIPELINE

s ● ● ● ● ●
Solidscast
●● pigs
PIGS

s● s s● ● s ●s s s● ●s ●s ● ●● ● ●● ●● ● ●
● ●
● s ● s
s s ●● ss
● ●
ss ●s s● ● s● Spheres
●s s ●● s ● ss ● s ●● ● ● ●● ● ●
● ●
● s s
s s ●s ss
● ●
● ● s ●Hyperbaric
s ●● s spheres
● s ● s● s ● s s
● s
● ● s ●HighsDP ●●(plugging)
s ● spigs
s ● s ●● ● ● ● ● s ●
● s ●
● ● s● s s Pig signals
●s ●● s – intrusive
● ss ● s s● s ●s ss ss
s s s ● ● ● s ●● ● s●●
Pig signals – non-intrusive
PIPELINE PIGGING COMPONENTS

● ● ● s● s● s ●s ●● s ● ●s s ● ss s ss ss ss
s s ●s s ● s
s s
● ●● ● s●●
● s● s ●Pig signals
●● s – subsea
● ss ● s s● ●s s s ●s ● s ● ● ● s●●
s● ●s s s● s Pig locaters
●s ●● s– onshore
● ss ● s s● s ●s ss ● s
s ●
● ● ● s ●● s
s s
● ●● ss ●
●
●Pig locaters
●● s– offshore
BUYERS’ GUIDE A–J OVERLEAF

ss ss ● ss ● s● s ● s s
● ● s ● s s
● ●s ss ●
AND EQUIPMENT

s s s s s ●
s ● ● s Pig/sphere
●s ●● s traps ● ss ● s s● s ● ●s ●
● ● ●● ● s
● ●s ● ●●
s ● s● s s Closures●& s
●s Interlocks
ss ● s s● s ● ●s s
● ●● ●● s
● ss s ●●
s s s ss s Pig/sphere
●s ● slaunch valves
ss s s s ss s ● s ss s ●
● ● s Sphere launch
●s ● s pins/flaps
ss ● s s● s ● ● ● s
● ●●
s Sphere●flow
●s ● stees ● ss ● s s● s ● ● s ● ●
●Diverters
●● s ● ss ● s s● s ● s
● s s
●Convergers● s (Wyes) ss s s s ● ● s s s
s● ●s s s● ss Pig handling
●s s ●● s systems ● ss ● s s● s ● ●s ●
● ● ● ● s
● ●● ● ●s ● ●
● s● Pig Suspension
●s ● s Systems
s s s ● ● s ● ● ●
s s s Sphere●lifters
s ● ss ● s s● s s s s
s s ●
● ●● Testing●● ●
●● ● ● ● ● ● ●
● ●● ● ● ● ●● ● s● s ●
● Drying ● ●
●● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ●● ● ● ● ●● ● ●● ● ●
PIPELINE PIGGING

● ● Commissioning
●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ●● ●●
● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ●
●● ● ● ● Cleaning
●● ● ●– ● general
● ● ●● ●● ● ● ● ●●● ●
● ●●
● ●● ●● ●● ●●
● ● ●●● ● ●● ● ● ●●
SERVICES

●● s ● ● ● Cleaning
●● ● ●– ● pre-inspection
● ● ●● ●● ● ● ● ●●● ●
● ●●
● ●● ●● ●●
● ●●
● ● ●●
s● ● ●ss ●●● ● ●●
s ●Gel pigging
s ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ●
s ● s Slugs(batch)
●● ● ● inhibition
● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ●● ●
● ● ●● ● ●●
s ●
● Insitu internal
● ● line coating
● ● ● ●● s● s
●● s ●● ●● ● Pig tracking/locating
●● ● ●● ● ●● s● ●● ●s ●● ● s ● ● ●
● ●●
● ● ● ● ●●
s● s ●●
● ● ●●
s● ● ●ss ●●● ● ●●
s ●s ●● Isolating/plugging
●● ●● ● ●● ● ●● ●● ● ● ● ● s ●
s ●● ● s ●
s s ● Pipeline
● ● repair
s ●● s ● ●
● ● ● s● s s ● ●s ●● s ● s ●s ●●
s● ● s s Metal loss/corrosion
s s (MFL)
s s
● s ● ● ●●
● ● ●● ●● ● ●
s● ● s ● ●s ●
s s s Metal loss/corrosion
s s (UT)
s s
● ●s ● ●● ● ●●
● ●●
● ●● ●● ● ● s ●s
s● ●
IN LINE INSPECTION

s s s ● Metal
s ●● loss/corrosion
s● (other)
s ● s
● ● ●s ● ●● ●●
● ●● ●● ●● ● ● s ●s
s● ●
s● ● s ● ●Geometry
● ● s s ● s
● ● ●s ●
● ●● ●
● ●●
● ● ● ●●
●● ● ●●
● ● ●
s● ● s ● ●s ●
SERVICES

s s Crack
● detection
s● s ● ● ● ● ● ●● ●●
● ●●
● ● ●
● ●●
● s● ● s ● s ●
● s● Leak
●s ● detection
● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●●
● ●● ●
● ●● ● ● ● ●
s s ●Photographic/video
● ● ●● ● s
● ●s ● ●● s● ●s ● ● ● s
s● ● ●s ● ● ●Bend
●●detection
● ●● s● s s
● ●s ● ●● ● ●●
● ●●
● ●●
● ● ● ● s
s● ● ●s ●
s● ● ●s ● ● ●Profile/Mapping
●● ● s● ss s s
● ●s ●
● ●● ● ●●
● ●●
● ●●
● ● ● ● s
s● ● ●s ●
● ●Spanning/line
● ● s cover s s s ● ● ●
● ● ●● ● s● s ● ●
s ●s s● Smart
●s ● Utility
● s●Pigging ●s ● s
● ●s ● ●● ● ●●
● ●● ● ●● s● ● s s
● ● ● ● ●Feasibility
● ●● studies
● ● ● ● ●
●● ●● ● ●● ●● ●●
●● ●● ●● ●●
● ●●
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INDUSTRIAL CONSULTANCY

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SERVICS

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s ● ●Fitness
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● ● ● s● s● Pigs
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● ● ● ● s ● ●● ● ● ● ●
PIGGING

● ● ● ● Components/fittings
●● ● s ●s ● ● ● s ● ●●
s ● ● ● ● s
● s ●● ●
● Controls s
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● ● ●System Design
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●Installation
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64 | Pipeline & Gas Journal • August 2017

 Greentsing Pipeline Technology Co., Ltd.
PSI – Pipeline Services International GmbH & Co KG

Tianjin Greentsing Pipeline Technology Co., Ltd.

Advanced Pipeline & Tank Services
PSI – Pipeline Services International GmbH & Co KG

Services Inc und AnlagenService GmbH

RAS Rohrleitungs- und AnlagenService GmbH

LLC

Pipeline Engineering & Supply Co. Limited

Limited

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& Process Services LLC

BV Services
ROUGE Pipeline & Process Services LLC

Trans Asia Pipeline & Specialty Services

Trading
& Supply&Co.

Vikram & Co. LLP Inc

& Process

& Specialty
JSC AS
GmbH & Co. KG
Pipeline Pigging Products Inc

Pipeline Pigging Products Inc

Oil Gas & Power Italia S.R.L.
LLCLtd

Industrial International,
Valve GmbH & Co KG

Services b.v.
Engineering Services

Safety Systems
Pipeline Services LLC (PLS)

Services b.v.
Nacional, SA de CV
Pipesurvey International CV

Asset Integrity
Pipeline Services LLC (PLS)

™ SA
Pipesurvey International CV

Co. LLP
Reinhart Hydrocleaning SA
Quest Integrity Group, LLC
Solutions
Pipetech Corporation Ltd
Products

Diascan”, JSC
Pipetech Corporation Ltd
Pipeline Innovations Ltd

Pipeline Innovations Ltd

PT. Tonsco International

Hydrocleaning
Ltd

PT. Tonsco International

Pigging Group,

Sdn&Bhd
KTN ASFoams (P) Ltd

Solutions
Cleaners Inc
Sriram Foams (P) Ltd
(Pipeline

OceaneeringDiascan”,
Cleaners Inc

iNPIPE PRODUCTS

Corporation
Pig Inc
HalfwaveInnovations

PipelineCorporation
Gulf Petrochemical

Asia Pipeline
InlineRohrleitungs-

Bhd
Matthey

Romstar Sdn Bhd

Girard Industries

I2i Pipelines Ltd

Williamson
Pipeline

T. D. Williamson

Vikram
IKM Testing AS

bv

Limited
Pigging

Topline Limited

Unlimited
In-LineIntegrity

Industrial
Limited
ROSEN Group

ROSEN Group

Engineers
LimproGroup
AS

Johnson Sdn

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STATS Group
Co.

Group
Knapp Polly

Netherlocks
NDT Global

3P Services

PII Pipeline
Halliburton

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Romstar
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| 65
Hardware-Driven Data Processing
Among Ultrasonic ILI Upgrades
By Stefan Klein, Gerhard Kopp, Thomas Meinzer and Herbert Willems, NDT Global, Stutensee, Germany
T
he main task of inline inspection
(ILI) is the early detection of poten-
tially hazardous pipeline anoma-
lies such as metal loss as well as
their precise sizing, thus providing reliable
input data for integrity assessment. For the
inspection of liquid pipelines, ultrasonic
tools offer specific advantages over other
techniques with regard to signal interpreta-
tion, resolution or measurement accuracy.
Over the last two decades, inspection
tools have been improved considerably by
taking advantage of the progress in elec-
tronics, data-processing technology and
data-storage capabilities as made available
from other application areas. For example,
the achieved ultrasonic measurement reso-
lution allows for the reliable detection of
pinholes in the pipe body and welds.
Further improvements are related to
inspection speed, inspection range, and
online monitoring of medium properties in
order to control medium-dependent inspec-
tion settings. This article illustrates recent
hardware driven progress and its benefit for
ultrasonic ILI by inspection results.
ILI by means of intelligent pigging has
become a standard application to ensure
safe operation of pipelines worldwide.
Ultrasonic inspection tools in particular
have proven very successful for crack and
metal loss inspection of liquid pipelines.
The development of ultrasonic inspection
tools in recent years is strongly tied to the
progress of electronics and data processing
during the same period.
Continuous improvement of the perfor-
mance of ultrasonic ILI tools was enabled
by implementation of state-of-the-art tech-
nology regarding data recording, data pro-
cessing and data storage. An important
Sampling Max. Time
Frequency Amplitude Resolution
(MHz) Error* (ns)
(dB)
20 3.0 50
40 0.7 25
80 0.2 12.5
* At ultrasonic frequency of 5 MHz
** If one bit is used for signal sign
Table1: Maximum amplitude error, resolution (time, wall thickness) and signal dynamics for
some analog-to-digital converters with different characteristics
66 | Pipeline & Gas Journal • August 2017
aspect of these improvements is the mea-
surement resolution resulting in detection
of smaller defects at high certainty levels, as
well as enhanced sizing capabilities.
ILI Tool Improvements
The progress of ILI tools correlates with
developments in electronics. Integrated
electronic components allow for compact-
size and reduced power consumption at the
same time. As a result, an increased number
of ultrasonic sensors can be accommodated
on an ILI tool and consume less space. In
general, the corresponding improvements
for ILI tools are:
! More sensors, thus providing increased
circumferential resolution.
! More parallel processing of receiving
channels enabling higher inspection
speed or alternatively increased axial
resolution.
! Less power consumption per sensor,
thus increasing the inspection range or
alternatively the tool length.
Data Digitization
In ultrasonic ILI, piezoelectric ultrasonic
sensors are typically used as transmitters
and receivers in a so-called pulse-echo
arrangement. Captured ultrasonic signals
are transformed by the piezoelectric effect
into electric signals that are digitized and
further processed. For digitization of the
ultrasonic signals, analog-to-digital convert-
ers (ADCs) are used.
The ADC itself intrinsically bears a mea-
surement error depending on its sampling
frequency and its digitization depth. Table
1 gives an overview for different ADC
characteristics. Using state-of-the-art ADCs
(e.g., an 80-MHz sampling rate and 14-bit
Wall Sampling Signal
Thickness Depth Dynamics
Resolution (bit) (dB)
(mm)
0.16 8 48 (**42)
0.08 12 72 (**66)
0.04 14 84 (**78)
sampling depth), the error for amplitude
and time can be neglected for ultrasonic
inspection frequencies of typically 5 MHz.
Furthermore, the sampling depth of at least
14 bit provides a dynamic range adequate
for accurate recording of ultrasonic signals.
Data Processing
After digitization, inspection data are
processed in a versatile way, using so-called
field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)
and state-of-the-art microprocessors. The
clock speed of the microprocessors has
roughly increased from 1,990 to 2,010 by
a factor of about 100 while the progress in
computer power as measured by the micro-
processor transistor count has changed by a
factor of about 1,000 in the same period1,2.
By applying these improvements to ILI
tools, it allows for advanced onboard data
processing that was not possible in the past.
Examples of application include:
! Dynamic adaptation of measurement
settings to varying medium or pipeline
properties.
! Preprocessing of inspection data dur-
ing inspection to speed up quality con-
trol and data analysis processes after
the tool is received.
Data Storage
A previous drawback of ultrasonic ILI
was the huge amount of data collected and
limited ILI tool data storage capacity. This
limitation required the use of data com-
pression and rather complex data reduc-
tion algorithms in order to ensure storage
of only the most significant part of the
data, while preserving 100% inspection
coverage. Due to the enormous progress
in data storage technology the situation
changed dramatically and has become
quite relaxed.
Today large storage capacities of several
terabytes can easily be accommodated in
state-of-the-art ultrasonic ILI tools. The
progress here over the last two decades,
as measured in terms of capacity, size and
costs can be estimated to about 2 by 104.
The application of improved storage tech-
nology enables, for instance:
! Full data acquisition and storage of
enhanced datasets even for exceptional
pipe section lengths.
 ! Combined ultrasonic crack, metal loss
and geometry measurement without
data reduction.
Related Improvements
In the previous section, we have outlined
some of the progress in hardware used in the
latest ultrasonic ILI tools. How this progress
leads to improvements regarding ultrasonic ILI
tool performance and robustness of the system
is described in more detail in the following.
Measurement Resolution
The measurement resolution is one of the
most important characteristics of an ILI tool. It
is related to i) the minimum defect size that can
be detected at required certainty levels, and ii)
the accuracy of a defect profile and defect outer
dimensions. Basically, there are three compo-
nents of resolution that need to be considered:
! Axial resolution: distance between, for
example, two ultrasonic measurements
in axial direction of the pipe.
! Circumferential resolution: distance
between, for example, two adjacent
ultrasonic sensors in circumferential
direction of the pipe.
! Depth measurement resolution: sam-
Unmatched Performance and Proven Results
pling of the time of flight of the ultra-
sonic signal, which translates into, for
example, wall thickness resolution for
metal loss measurement (Table 1).
For metal loss inspection, requested tool
performance by the industry became more
stringent over time. Requirements are relat-
ed to the management of pinhole corrosion
characterized by small outer dimensions, but
occasionally deep corrosion damage, espe-
cially for offshore pipelines. Also, accurate
burst pressure prediction of, for example,
possibly interacting corrosion defects that
require accurate data on individual corro-
sion defect depths, lengths and widths.
The outer dimensions of metal loss defects
as measured by an ILI tool strongly depend on
the tool’s measurement threshold and its wall
thickness measurement accuracy. This is of high
importance in case ILI data support continuous
monitoring of the pipe toward corrosion growth
analysis and metal loss defect interaction.
Challenges, as outlined above, led to the
continuous development of ultrasonic ILI
tools over the past 10 years. NDT Global’s
UMp tool represents one development stage.
For Ump, the minimum detectable defect
size was reduced to 5 mm, using a default
GIRARD INDUSTRIES
6531 N. Eldridge Pkwy
Houston, TX 77041-3507, USA
sales@girardind.com
axial resolution of 1.5 mm and increasing the
circumferential resolution to 4 mm. The latest
EVO Series 1.0 update allows tools to operate
at an axial resolution of 0.75 mm (entitled
UMp+), thus providing precise defect profiles
even for small metal loss defects.
Figure 1 schematically illustrates the effect
of improved axial resolution with regard
to the precise determination of a corrosion
profile. The consequences of these develop-
ments are an increase of a factor of two in
Distance (mm)
Figure 1: Sketch illustrating the improvement of
corrosion profiling from UM at 3-mm (0.12-inch)
axial resolution to UMp+ at 0.75-mm (0.03-inch)
axial resolution 3.2 inspection speed.
Toll Free: 800.231.2861
Phone: 713.466.3100
Fax: 713.466.8050
www.GirardIndustries.com
www.pgjonline.com
| 67
 Max. Tool Velocity at Min.
Circumferential Min. Axial
Type of Inspection Resolution Resolution Axial Resolution
(mm / inch) (mm / inch) (m/s) (MPH)
UM 8.0 / 0.32 3.0 / 0.12 4.0 9 Consequently, the tools can now operate
Metal loss UMp 4.0 / 0.16 1.5 / 0.06 2.0 4.5
UMp+ 4.0 / 0.16 0.75 / 0.03 1.0 2.3
Table 2: Maximum inspection speed obtained with EVO Series 1.0 as depending on axial
resolution for different tool configurations
the number of ultrasonic sensors for the new specified or required resolution. This rela-
UMp standard, compared to the previous UM tionship itself is given by a simple formula:
standard that became obsolete. vmax = aR / (Nm × tus)
Compared to former UM tools of 8-mm where vmax is the maximum inspection
circumferential and 3-mm axial resolution, speed at given axial resolution aR, Nm
the current tool generation allows for 4-mm is the number of multiplexed ultrasonic
circumferential resolution and up to 0.75- signal channels per unit and tus is the time
mm axial resolution. Thus, NDT Global’s window required for recording an indi-
UMp+ tool fleet captures eight times more vidual A-scan.
inspection data. This translates to smaller As the time window to record the ultra-
detectable defect dimensions and higher sonic signal can be assumed to be fixed
confidence in wall thickness readings. to typically <100 µs, the main option to
Measurement resolution cannot be dis- increase the maximum inspection speed
cussed without taking into account the for an anticipated axial resolution is to
relationship between the axial tool resolu- process data in parallel, i.e., to reduce the
tion (aR) and the maximum tool inspection number Nm of multiplexed channels.
speed (vmax) that is acceptable to ensure a As shown in Table 2, compared to former
ILI tool electronics the new design allows
for an increase of inspection speed up to a
factor of four, depending on the total number
of sensors used and tool axial sampling rate.
at inspection speeds that in most cases do
not require reduction of the pipe medium
flow during inspection. Thus, no reduction
in throughput of the pipeline is required
during inspection. In addition to obvious
cost savings for the pipeline operator, this
relaxes ILI-run scheduling efforts with
respect to scheduled pipe medium flow.
On the other hand, EVO Series 1.0
UMp+ configuration enables high-resolu-
tion wall thickness data acquisition when
needed. Overall, the ultrasonic tools allow
for highly customized tool settings to meet
operator needs.
Wall Thickness Inspections
In the following, examples are provided
to illustrate how hardware-driven ultrasonic
ILI tool improvements outlined in the previ-
ous section translate into improved inspec-
tion performance.
Pipeline metal loss defects of length
and width <10 mm (0.394-inch) are

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 to data analysis of Figure 3:
a pinhole corrosion. a Inspection data
Now one can detect showing an area of
and size pinholes in external corrosion
the pipe body based with pits/pinholes in
on rich information the base material.
from ultrasonic data. (a) ultrasonic wall
thickness C-scan,
Figure 2 depicts
(b) 3-D image recon-
an example recorded b struction and (c)
Figure 2: Inspection data of an internal pinhole in a girth weld with an axial reso- depth profile along
of 6 mm length, 9 mm width and a maximum depth of 3.2 mm. lution of 0.75 mm. channel indicated in
(a) ultrasonic stand-off C-scan overview, (b) picture of defect, The comparison of Figure 3(a).
(c) C-scan close-up and (d) depth profile plotted along channel the ultrasonic C-scan
indicated in Figure 2(c). (Figure 2c) with the
cutout defect (Figure which shows the
2b) shows agreement. ultrasonic C-scan
b c d
The depth profile of c of the defects,
this internal pinhole while Figure 3b
(Figure 2d) demon- provides a 3-D
strates the accuracy image reconstruct-
of the depth mea- ed from the ultra-
surement. Such small sonic wall thick-
pinhole defects have ness data.
defined as pinholes3, which have been a been difficult to detect using the obsolete Here, the smallest defect has a length of
challenge for ILI tools due to the tool res- standard UM tool resolution tool. about 5 mm (encircled). A depth profile of
olution being of approximately that same Another example is a group of external the three defects along the horizontal line
size. Only a very limited number of wall pitting corrosion, including pinholes, in indicated in Figure 3a is given in Figure 3c.
thickness readings previously contributed the base material of a pipe joint (Figure 3), Based on an axial resolution of 0.75 mm,

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| 69
 iting a quite complex structure, includ-
a ing local pits up to 62% of the depth of
the nominal pipe wall thickness. Figure
4b shows the ultrasonic wall thickness
data that matches closely with the defect
(Figure 4a). The ultrasonic wall thickness
data are used to reconstruct a 3-D image
b of the pipe section, which gives a realistic
impression of the corrosion damage.
The result of this image is shown in
Figure 4c. This type of data is ideally
suited for Level 3 type defect assess-
ment. The 3-D dataset can be imported
into an appropriate FE-software to cal-
c
culate the maximum allowable operating
pressure (MAOP). Based on the precise
sizing information and high-resolution
data, the result provides one of the most
advanced solutions for pipeline defect
assessment.
Figure 4: EVO Series 1.0 UMp+ (0.75 mm by 4 mm resolution) inspection data showing com-
Figure 5 shows inspection data of com-
plex external corrosion crossing a girth weld; the maximum depth is 5.9 mm (62% of nominal plex channeling internal corrosion defect
wall thickness). (a) photography of corrosion, (b) ultrasonic wall thickness C-scan, and (c) 3-D in a pipe of NPS 20-inch and 19.3 mm
image reconstruction. (0.76-inch) nominal pipe wall thickness.
The defect outer dimensions in terms of
one obtains extremely accurate informa- Figure 4 gives an example of an external length, width and depth are 12.377 m
tion on the defect shape and interaction of general corrosion. The metal loss extends (487.28-inch) by 241 mm (9.49-inch) by
corrosion defects. over a girth weld and a large area exhib- 9.2 mm (0.362-inch), respectively. The

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70 | Pipeline & Gas Journal • August 2017

simplistic representation of the defect by
its outer box dimensions does not reflect a
the true nature of this complex corrosion
area. The high-resolution ultrasonic mea-
surement captures the true defect shape
and individual pitting.
Assessment of safe operating pres-
sure resulted in 6.3 MPa (913 psi) for
B31G, 8.1 MPa (1,174 psi) for modi-
fied B31G and 10.9 MPa (1,580 psi) for
the remaining strength of corroded pipe
(RSTRENG). In the absence of the true
burst pressure, the level of conservatism b
built into the applied standards remains
unknown. However, a large-scale com-
parison of failure pressure calculations
and burst pressure testing results have
shown that Level 1 assessment methods
Figure 5: Inspection data showing complex channeling internal corrosion. (a) ultrasonic stand-
B31G and modified B31G are negatively
off C-scan and (b) river-bottom depth profile.
affected by the irregularity of depth pro-
files of assessed colonies4,5. allowing straight forward application of robustness of the ILI system.
Level 2 assessment methods such as
Level 2 assessment methods for burst Primarily ILI tool performance indica-
RSTRENG have performed better in pre-
dicting the true burst pressure for com- pressure calculation. tors such as resolution and accuracy are
plex interacting metal loss defects in the elevated to a new industry standard. This
same study. As demonstrated in Figure Conclusion development also enabled combined ultra-
5b, the river-bottom profile can easily Tool improvements lead to enhanced sonic inspection of corrosion and dents in
be generated from ultrasonic raw data, inspection performance capabilities and a single tool run. Ultrasonic non-contact

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| 71
www.pgjonline.com20/07/2017 13:57
measurement of dents, ovalities or wrinkles
is achieved at high resolution, allowing
absolute depth-sizing accuracies of ±1 mm
(0.04-inch) or 0.3% in e.g. 12-inch pipe.
Compared to the early generation of
ultrasonic tools, the continuous ILI sys-
tem development process will further
enhance inspection performance capabili-
ties in the future. Several possible direc-
tions for improvement are apparent. Some
are driven by developments originating
from other industry applications and need
additional effort to be implemented into
an existing ILI system.
Improvements are also driven by new
regulatory requirements, challenging
inspection conditions or the demand for
increased integrity management efficiency.
The latter requires more precise and com-
plete data in order to accurately determine
reassessment intervals or to schedule the
repair of present flaws.
A notional example demonstrates the
importance: Imagine a pipe of 8.38 mm
(0.33-inch) nominal wall thickness exhib-
iting an external corrosion defect. The
corrosion growth rate is conservatively
estimated to 0.4 mm (0.016-inch) per
year. Assuming linear corrosion growth,
an ILI depth-sizing accuracy of ±10%
of the nominal wall thickness translates
into a reassessment interval inaccuracy of
about two years.
However, an ILI accuracy of ±0.4

MAKING
mm leads to a period of only one year.
In reality, operational or environmen-
tal changes and other conditions might
affect corrosion growth rates. Therefore,

CONNECTIONS defect growth may not remain constant in

between successive tool runs. ILI tool-siz-

“
ing accuracies must be taken into account
when comparing defect dimensions cap-
tured by tool runs years apart.
One of the first courses I took In this important respect, accurate
was CIP. It helped me immensely in my ultrasonic ILI data help to eliminate the
early career. Later on, I also took CP1 ambiguity in identification of faster-than-
and CP4. CP4 was quite a challenge, estimated growing defects, and conse-
even for an engineer. But I enjoyed it, it quently lead to enhanced efficiency of the
helped me out a lot. Being certified has integrity management program at reduced

”
risk. P&GJ
certainly helped in my recent years as
a professional engineer and working
REFERENCES
with NACE as an instructor.
[1] Moore, G. E., Cramming more components onto
integrated circuits, Electronics 38, Nr. 8, pp 114–117,
– Ernest Klechka, PE, NACE CIP Level 3,
CP4, Corrosion Specialist, and Protective 1965.
Coating Specialist Certified, and NACE
[2] Borkar, S., Chien A.A., The future of microproces-
Instructor, Assistant Regional Terminal
Manager at Citgo Petroleum sors, Communications of the Association of Computing
Machinery, Vol. 54, No. 5, pp 67–77, 2011.

[3] Pipeline Operators Forum (POF), Specifications and

NACE Career Development, your experts in
requirements for in-line inspection of pipelines, 2016.
training and certification

Developed by Industry,
[4] Benjamin, A.C., Freire, J.L.F., Vieira, R.D., Cunha,
D.J.S., Interaction of corrosion defects in pipelines –
Part 1: Fundamentals, International Journal of Pressure
Globally Recognized. Vessels and Piping, Vol. 144, pp 56–62, 2016.

[5] Benjamin, A.C., Freire, J.L.F., Vieira, R.D., Cunha,

D.J.S., Interaction of corrosion defects in pipelines –
Part 2: Mixed Type Interaction Joint Industry Project
database of corroded pipe tests, International Journal of
nace.org/career-development Pressure Vessels and Piping, Vol. 145, pp 41–59, 2016.

72 | Pipeline & Gas Journal • August 2017

STATS Carries Out Remote
Plug Isolation in Saudi Arabia Special to Pipeline & Gas Journal

S
TATS Group was retained by a client
in Saudi Arabia to provide pressurized
isolation of a 36-inch trunk line in the
first piggable isolation of its kind in the
region. The operator needed to replace the pig
trap launcher valve to ensure routine cleaning
and inspection operations can continue.
The 18-mile (29-km) pipeline had no valves
or means of isolating the pipeline between
the pig trap launcher valve itself and the
production manifold. Kintore, Aberdeenshire-
based STATS used its non-intrusive inline
isolation tool, which provided verified double
block and bleed isolation, to allow safe valve
replacement and maintenance activities.
The use of the Remote Tecno Plug™
allowed a short section of pipeline to be
New pig trap valve installed.
isolated, thereby avoiding a shutdown of
the production facilities, which would have
required the time-consuming and costly communication. An extremely low-frequency is always recoverable upon job completion.
process of de-oiling and flushing the entire (ELF) radio control system sets and monitors Following the isolation-stability hold period,
pipeline. This approach also had a posi- the tool throughout the isolation. the isolation certificate was issued. The plug
tive effect on the environment because it The remote plug was then hydraulically was constantly monitored and remained stable
prevented extensive flushing, cleaning and set, providing fail-safe, fully tested double- for the full three days while the valve was
disposal of oil from the entire pipeline. block isolation against 15-20 bar pipeline replaced. During the pig trap valve replace-
A conventional isolation would have pressure and its toxic contents. As is typical ment, the operator conducted additional main-
involved a hot-tap lip seal line-stop and in the region, the pipeline has high H2S sour tenance, including replacement of the 12-inch
vents to achieve isolation, but the sealing service (11%), so it was vital for the safety of kicker line valve and 4-inch drain valve.
integrity would not guarantee that there the worksite that the remote plug provided a With maintenance work completed, the
would be no leaks. reliable barrier prior to breaking containment. remote plug was used as a boundary for
Vikas Shangari, business development Independent testing of each seal with full a reinstatement pressure test. This was
manager for STATS Group, said the project pipeline pressure confirmed leak-tight isolation, achieved by raising the pipeline pressure
and the pipeline was bled down to ambient lev- from the pig trap launcher side while the
marked a significant milestone for the com-
els from the pig trap launcher to the rear of the plug remained fully “set.” The reverse pres-
pany as it was the first Tecno Plug isolation
plug. The annulus between the seals was vented sure test operation created a boundary to
carried out in Saudi Arabia. He said the
to “ambient” to create a zero-energy zone. confirm the newly installed valve. Finally,
system offers verified, fully tested and moni-
The remote plug uses differential pres- the plug was unset and reverse-pigged back
tored isolation while in the pipeline system,
sure acting on the tool to energize the lock to the launcher for demobilization. P&GJ
thereby avoiding additional tie-in weldments
for the isolation tool or vent fittings. grips and seals – this is referred to as “self-
He said the system is fully certified by energization.” When the isolation plug is Old valve (foreground)
DNV GL to verify that the design criteria self-energized the isolation is maintained with the new valve
satisfies pipeline isolation plugs requirements independently from the remote-control positioned.
for dual seal and isolation, in accordance with system; it is, however, backed up by the
Offshore Standards, DNV-OS-F101 (subma- hydraulic control system, which maintains
rine pipeline systems), and DNV-RP-F113 the isolation when the differential pressure
(subsea pipeline repair), as well as compliance is below the self-energization threshold.
with ASME BPVC Section VIII, Division 2. Once the plug is activated, the hydraulic
Once onsite, the remote plug was loaded circuits are locked in by pilot-operated
into the launcher, sent through the pig trap check valves and fail-safe solenoid valves.
valve and positioned in a short section of the The lock grips provide twice the required
pipeline between the valve and production tee, contact area. In the event the hydraulic con-
providing the option for the client to restart trol system is compromised, the tool-actu-
production during the valve-replacement ation mechanism will unset when the dif-
activities. During pigging operations, the plug ferential pressure is equalized. This ensures
was tracked and positioned using through-wall pipeline integrity is maintained and the plug

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| 73