In SPE 74830, a paper presented at the 2002 SPE ICoTA Conference in Houston, an inspection program was presented that would take coiled tubing (CT) quality to the next level. The program was aimed at total prevention of strip and mill defects and to determine the capability of field inspection units for CT. From these tests and investigations, it was determined that a higher level of nondestructive examination (NDE) could be achieved. This paper covers the NDE work performed since SPE 74830 was published.

This work includes the design and operation of an electromagnetic tool for incoming strip inspection, and the results of strip inspection over a 4-month period. In addition, work included operational design of a phased-array shear wave ultrasound system capable of inspecting continuously tapered CT and the results over a 3-month period. The results of tests of butt-welds at an experimental stage using sophisticated ultrasonic technology are also presented.

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