Combined In-Line Inspection of Pipelines for Metal Loss and Cracks

As pipelines grow in age it is of ever growing importance to provide operators with precise and reliable inspection data in order to perform advanced integrity assessment calculation and optimize maintenance processes. Until recently the inspection of a pipeline regarding metal loss and cracks not only constituted the need for two separate inspection runs but also the use of two separate tools. This paper will introduce a range of advanced in-line inspection tools that incorporate the ability to be used for quantitative metal loss and wall thickness- as well as crack inspections. These tools, utilizing ultrasound technology, make use of a new generation of electronics and an entirely new design of sensor carrier to enable metal loss- and crack inspection surveys to be performed with a single tool in a single run. The paper will explain the physical principle used, introduce the tool technology, introduce a case study and present the operational advantages to the operator.