The China-Russia East Route natural gas pipeline project (Сила Сибири) with a length of about 8,000 kilometers is known to have one of the greatest transmission pressures and longest routes in the world. With the ongoing construction, more sophisticated inspection technologies are being used to ensure high quality in welding.
The automated ultrasonic testing (AUT) equipment that is provided by NDT2NDT is currently used on-site to measure the integrity of the girth welds of a pipeline that contributes to quality control during this large-scale infrastructure initiative.
In China, the pipeline is laid over a distance of 5,111 kilometers starting in Heihe City in Heilongjiang Province and going through such areas as Hebei, Tianjin and Shandong. Being the first cross-border natural gas transmission line in Northeast China that is onshore, the project is significant to enhance the energy system in the country and to mitigate air pollution on its path.
This construction process is under strict quality control measures based on its strategic importance. The project has the latest technologies like fully automated welding, automated ultrasonic testing (AUT), and mechanized anti-corrosion repair techniques in order to meet the international standards.
Testing on girth welds is one of the important quality control measures, but it does not involve destruction. The inspection outcomes of every weld are subjected to a series of levels of review including inspection organizations, supervisory bodies, research institutions, independent third parties inspectors and international consultants. This multi-level verification process has an overall coverage of assessment up to 360%.
NDT2NDT is a leading supplier of AUT testing systems in China. Its equipment has been installed in the third segment of the Yongqing- Shanghai segment which is the Anping-Taian segment of the pipeline. The inspection specification on the welds that have been carried out by the system has included 1219×22, 1219×27.5, and 1219×18.4 which amounts to a total of 2,875 weld joints.
Fully automated inspection systems are very effective in increasing the efficiency of testing. The cable-free scanning design, also, enhances the flexibility of operations particularly in difficult field conditions. A combination of phased array (PA) and time-of-flight diffraction (TOFD) probes on a single scanning unit enables inspection with both methods at the same time, which helps in enhancing the accuracy and reliability of weld inspection.
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/aut-from-ndt2ndt-assists-construction-china-russian-east-nancy-xiong/
