A wide range of non-intrusive measurement techniques are available, each with strengths and weaknesses. It is important to analyze various techniques with respect to their accuracy, cost benefits, user-friendliness, remote monitoring, and limitations so that the results obtained can be effectively used in integrity management programs. This paper presents the results obtained from testing five (5) non-intrusive techniques (ultrasonic-handheld, ultrasonic-fixed, electrical probe, hydrogen permeation, and fibre-optic) by placing them individually on 6-foot long test pipes. Each pipe possessed artificially implanted 24 internal corrosion pits of different sizes and shapes; was attached with a non-intrusive monitoring technique on its external surface; was filled with brine, crude oil, and gas mixtures of H2S, CO2, and methane of various ratios; and was subjected to various temperature and pressure cycles over a period of twelve (12) years.

Based on this investigation the reliability of non-intrusive monitoring techniques has been established. This paper deals exclusively with non-intrusive techniques and does not compare the non-intrusive techniques with other sensitive intrusive techniques.

Subject
Pits, External surfaces, Pipe surfaces, Sensors, Materials, Piping, Probes, Thickness measurement, Cables, Fibers, Wall thickness, Nonintrusive corrosion monitoring, Hydrogen
Keywords:
non-intrusive monitoring, corrosion monitoring, electrical probe, ultrasonic probe, hydrogen permeation, oil and gas pipeline
© 2012 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
2012
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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