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Monitoring
on the
move
Dominic Giguère, Zetec, Canada,
examines developments in ultrasonic
testing designed to aid both critical
and non-critical inspections.
I
mprovements in non-destructive testing
technology, and particularly the software and
processing power of off-the-shelf, portable
phased array ultrasonic testing (UT) instruments,
mean that internal pipeline corrosion, while serious,
does not have to be the hidden threat that it was
even just a few years ago.
The latest generation of phased array UT
instruments gives technicians a range of methods
they can use to monitor and map material thickness
in pipes, welds, and valve components, including
time of flight diffraction (TOFD) and advanced
data-processing algorithms such as the total
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