Conventional Non-destructive Testing (NDT) methods namely; Magnetic Particle Testing (MPT) and Penetrant Testing (PT), that are used for inspection of surface and near-surface indications have multiple limitations. Slow deployment, need for dedicated surface preparation, dependence on operator skills and inability to archive inspection data are examples of these limitations. Eddy Current Array (ECA) Technology, which is the digital generation of Eddy Current Test (ECT), has recently emerged to address the challenges and limitations of convectional NDT methods used for inspection of surface and near-surface indications including Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC). This paper will discuss and analyse the capability ECA technology by evaluating the trial results conducted utilizing different ECA systems and probes. The trials were conducted on a pipeline segment experienced multiple SCC. ECA results from different probes and systems were compared against alternate NDT methods to evaluate the capability and accuracy. The evaluation outcome revealed that all probes of different ECA systems were able to detect the SCC in the pipeline with some variance in the accuracy.
In oil & gas industry, solid metal equipment such as pipelines, pressure vessels, heat exchangers and valves are susceptible to surface and sub-surface cracks and discontinuities attributed to cyclic loading and severe operating conditions. These anomalies affect the safety, structural functionality, reliability, integrity and life cycle of the equipment and if not detected timely, they could lead to catastrophic incidents. Consequently, this gave rise to the importance of different Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) methods and their abilities to detect and characterize surface discontinuity providing useful information to the structural integrity assessment. Commonly deployed convectional NDT methods are visual inspection, dye-penetrant inspection, magnetic particle inspection, eddy current testing and alternating current field measurement. Such methods are effective for surface inspection but have drawbacks and limitations such as surface preparation requirements, reliance on operators' skills, slow deployment (long time of application) and inability to archive inspection data (no traceability). Various NDT technologies have evolved to address these limitations. One of the rising technologies trying to overcome these limitations is Eddy Current Array (ECA) which is the advanced and digital version of the Conventional Eddy Current Testing (ECT). This paper examines the capabilities of ECA technology from different technology developers in comparison to conventional NDT methods when used to detect Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC).
