Pipeline Radiography Services

  • Inspection of welds with x-ray pipeline crawler | Badanie spoin czołgaczem rentgenowskim
  • Pipeline Construction Industry Depends on Non-destructive Testing from LBNiW | Budownictwo rurociągów przesyłowych polega na badaniach nieniszczących od LBNiW

Pipeline Radiography Services — image gallery

Why choose us?

  • We deliver on our promises – when we say we’ll do something, we do it!
  • Flexible service with quick turnaround times
  • Independent and impartial testing
  • Successful track record of delivering NDT services to various industries including large-scale industrial projects for global clients
  • Highly trained and certified, multi-disciplined specialists
  • Modern and always well-calibrated equipment
  • Testing performed according to the written procedures approved by a level III NDT engineer
  • Quality of service verified and confirmed by the approvals of the independent certification bodies
  • Always ready to answer questions on testing and quality assurance

Service Information

Pipeline Radiography Services

Products such as natural gas, crude oil or refined petroleum are frequently transported by means of cross-country high-pressure transmission pipelines. These pipelines are usually long and have a fairly large diameter. Their construction requires a massive amount of top quality welding that requires non-destructive examination. Radiography is widely considered one of the most reliable and proven non-destructive testing methods in weld inspection of pipelines. LBNiW provides automated pipeline radiographic services for pipes with diameters ranging from DN250 (10″) to DN1500 (60″) by utilizing x-ray crawler.

A pipeline crawler is essentially a battery powered, remotely controlled mobile radiographic machine designed to produce single wall, single image (SWSI) radiographs of circumferential welds in pipelines. It is a completely self-contained, self-propelled and self-operated vehicle that travels inside the pipeline, stops at the location of a girth weld, irradiates the weld with x-rays and then moves to the next one where it again stops and repeats the x-ray operation.

Pipeline radiography with a crawler is similar to a conventional radiography however an x-ray tube on a crawler device is run inside the pipe to each weld. Radiographic film is wrapped around the outside of the pipe so as to cover the weld. The entire weld (i.e., 360°) is then irradiated from the center of the pipe with x-rays. The radiation beam penetrates through the weld and exposes the film which is subsequently developed in our mobile dark room on-site to provide almost immediate results.

Our pipeline radiographic technique is quick and can inspect over 100 welds per day.

Our Qualifications

All our radiographers are certified according to ISO 9712 (EN473). They operate within strict safety parameters and produce high-quality radiographs that allow us to utilize our interpretation skills developed through many years of experience to determine if an indication is actually a defect or can be accepted per code requirements.

You can trust the skilled professionals at LBNiW, all our radiographers are radiation safety qualified. Prior to commencing any site radiography, a specific risk assessment will always be carried out by a senior radiographer (minimum RT level 2 acc. to EN473) to ensure the work is carried out safely in full compliance with HSE legislation.

Our Equipment

We partner with the leading radiography equipment manufacturers to ensure that our inventory includes the most advanced productive and reliable equipment available. Additionally, LBNiW always has spare equipment on hand to facilitate the quick and easy resolution of problems encountered in the field environment with damaged or faulty machines.

We utilize JME pipeline crawler that is designed for non-destructive examinations of circumferential butt welds in all types of oil and gas transmission pipelines, providing high quality 360° panoramic radiographs. The unit is equipped with Yxlon 300kV panoramic constant potential X-ray tube which in combination with highly efficient power electronics of the crawler guarantees optimized penetration and maximized number of exposures per battery cycle. The crawler is robust and reliable in all kinds of climatic conditions ensuring continuous operation without costly delays.

We have also invested in state of the art film processing equipment which guarantees quick turnaround times. We can provide immediate on-site RT results with our mobile darkroom which offers fully automated film processing.

Advantages of Automated Radiographic Testing of Pipelines

  • Inspects very large volumes of welds per shift
  • Consistently produces very high quality radiographs
  • Very fast method with short exposure times
  • Delivers superior radiographic image quality and therefore, better defect detectability as compared to conventional radiography using gamma sources.
  • Provides a permanent record of the inspection

Disadvantages of Automated Radiographic Testing of Pipelines

  • Testing must be performed a considerable distance from the welding crews
  • Safety precautions are required for the safe use of radiation
  • The crawler must be run into the pipe

Relevant Codes & Standards

Application Specific Standards

  • EN 12732, Gas infrastructure. Welding steel pipework. Functional requirements
  • EN-ISO 17635, Non-destructive testing of welds. General rules for metallic materials

Standards Specific to Radiographic Examination

  • EN-ISO 5579, Non-destructive testing. Radiographic testing of metallic materials using film and X- or gamma rays. Basic rules
  • EN-ISO 17636-1, Non-destructive testing of welds. Radiographic testing X- and gamma-ray techniques with film
  • EN-ISO 10675-1, Non-destructive testing of welds. Acceptance levels for radiographic testing Steel, nickel, titanium and their alloys
  • EN-ISO 19232-1, Non-destructive testing. Image quality of radiographs Determination of the image quality value using wire-type image quality indicators
  • EN-ISO 19232-3, Non-destructive testing. Image quality of radiographs Image quality classes
  • EN-ISO 11699-1, Non-destructive testing. Industrial radiographic film Classification of film systems for industrial radiography
  • EN 25580, Specification for minimum requirements for industrial radiographic illuminators for non-destructive testing
  • EN-ISO 11699-2, Non-destructive testing. Industrial radiographic films Control of film processing by means of reference values
  • EN 1330-3, Non-destructive testing. Terminology Terms used in industrial radiographic testing
  • ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section V Article 2 – Radiographic Examination.

Our Pipeline Radiography Resources

We hold the following pipeline radiography equipment:

JME 10″ – 60″ X-ray Pipeline Crawler

LBNiW - Pipeline Crawler

Crawler Specification

Pipe Diameters From DN250 (10″) to DN1500 (60″)
X-ray Tube (kV) Yxlon Smart 300PC 50-300 kV constant potential
Optimum Tube Current 2-3 milliamps
Focal Spot Size 5.5 x 0.5 mm
Control Device Magnetic Control System (Magnetope)
Travel Speed Up To 0.3m/s
Stopping Accuracy ± 5mm
Battery Source Sealed Lead Acid 120V 15 Ah
Typical Exposure per Battery Charge 70-90 x 30sec
Max Angle of Climb in Optimum Conditions 27°
Operating Temperature Range -10°C to +50°C
Total Weight (kg) 145
Overall Length (m) 2.8

 

Other Pipeline Radiography Resources

  • 1 Cargo van equipped with a fully integrated darkroom and automated film processing.
  • 1 Off-road vehicle, ideal for oil or gas transmission pipelines

Equipment Available for Manual Radiographic Inspection of Tie-In Welds and Repaired Welds

  • 2 GE Inspection Technologies ERESCO 42 MF4 200 kV constant potential directional portable X-ray systems. These lightweight tubes are capable of penetrating section thickness of up to 35mm of steel. Their rugged construction and low weight make them a perfect choice for field radiography where very high quality of radiographs is required.
  • 1 Yxlon Smart 300HP 300 kV constant potential directional portable X-ray system. It offers wide range of applications in weld inspection, casting and composite materials, especially where high penetration power is demanded. This unit is capable of penetrating section thickness of up to 60mm of steel.
  • 2 SENTINEL 880 Delta gamma projectors. Portable, lightweight and compact industrial radiographic exposure devices with maximum source capacity of 150Ci of Selenium-75 or 150Ci of Iridium-192.
  • 2 SENTINEL 880 Elite gamma projectors. Portable, lightweight and compact industrial radiographic exposure devices with maximum source capacity of 150Ci of Selenium-75 or 50Ci of Iridium-192.