Using permanently installed ultrasound monitoring to maximize the lifetime of a pipeline

Manual ultrasound inspection is the most common way to measure pipeline wall thickness quantitatively. By using permanently installed ultrasound transducer sensors and automated acquisition/processing, it is possible to improve the accuracy/resolution significantly compared to using manual methods. The main reason for improved performance is that variation due to the operator and uncertainty in exact probe placement are removed by using an automated system. A new non-intrusive ultrasound based system has been developed for wall loss monitoring applications, and pilots of this system have been installed on subsea pipelines, topside offshore, and on land. This monitoring concept can be used with communication of data in real time, or with a data logger. This kind of monitoring system can be used to provide pipeline owners and operators with data to verify the effectiveness of corrosion inhibition programs, and also information about pipeline operating conditions between inspection pig runs. As the concept is based on measurements from the outside only, this method is also a good candidate for unpiggable, or difficult to pig pipelines