London, June 2009
2H Completes RiserTest Project for the European Commission
2H Offshore, an Acteon company, has been involved in the European Commission’s RiserTest project. The aim of the project was to implement a large-scale monitoring solution for detection of time dependent degradation - corrosion and fatigue cracking - in sub-sea pipelines and risers using ultrasonic guided waves. Such waves have the capability to travel long distances in metals (many tens of metres) so that long lengths of pipe may be examined from a limited number of test locations. Furthermore, by generating a circular wave travelling in the pipe wall from an encircling transducer tool, 100% of the volume of the pipe wall may be examined. Consequently this approach is highly attractive for examination of inaccessible areas, as only a limited number of access points are needed and no prior estimation needs to be made of the most likely location of degradation, as the whole pipe is monitored.
The main tasks in the project were:
- To specify the requirements for the test system
- To develop sensors and the associated electronics to meet those requirements
- To enhance the techniques and procedures for performing long range ultrasonic testing (LRUT) for improved performance
- To demonstrate the capabilities in the laboratory
- To demonstrate the feasibility of performing such tests sub-sea by means of underwater demonstration of a prototype system and tests under high pressure to simulate depths down to 2,000 metres
The principal achievements were the demonstration that generation and reception of ultrasound were feasible down to 2,000 metres depth and that an operational system was capable of detecting defects in riser pipe sub-sea.
For further details please visit: www.risertest.eu.com
