SGS Provides Storage Tank Inspection

SGS Industrial Services has introduced remote ultrasonic testing as a service, offering inspection for corrosion on difficult-to-access tank walls and roofs. Storage tank walls and roofs must be inspected regularly for corrosion. General corrosion, corrosion around liquid levels or welds and other mechanisms can attack the integrity of a tank.

However, the inspection work can be difficult and expensive due to the enormous surface area, difficult access and obstacles. SGS Industrial Services can provide remote ultrasonic inspection for tank walls and roofs. With a motorised tank wall scanner with magnetic wheels, carbon steel tanks can be tested for corrosion and weld defects. This method enables remote line scans, remote spot measurements, remote time of flight diffraction (TOFD) inspection and remote visual inspection with a camera that can be steered.

SGS remote ultrasonic inspection does not require scaffolding or cranes and can be implemented on tank walls, even those with obstacles, such as wind girders and overlapping plates. This inspection technique provides detailed data on tank wall thickness with echo-to-echo measurements as required for any tank integrity assessment.

Ultrasonic Inspection Detects Pipeline Defect

Ultrasonic inspection involves transmitting sound waves of short wavelength at high frequencies to identify flaws, measure the thickness of materials or detect corrosion.
Conventional ultrasonic testing equipment sends a pulsed beam of high-ultrasound from a handheld transducer, which is placed upon the surface of the object being tested. This wave is disturbed and then partially returned from spots with internal imperfections or from the back of the material wall.

Capturing and analysing the return sound can show the amplitude of the pulse and the duration taken for return to the transducer. By measuring this sound, a skilled operator can identify the location and orientation of imperfections and the wall thickness. Acceptance criteria define whether or not the indication is a defect. Ultrasonic testing is now being used more often for inspection than the traditional balance between radiographic testing and ultrasonic testing - especially for pipelines.

SGS has good experience of failure mechanisms. SGS's network operates all NDT technologies in more than 30 countries. SGS offers an integrated NDT service pack, combining inspection, supply-chain services and asset-integrity management. SGS offers conventional ultrasonic testing as well as other NDT methods.

Its service varies from standard non-destructive testing services to advanced NDT techniques such as risk-based inspections, time of flight diffraction, Corroscan, positive material identification, magnetic flux leakage, leak testing, thermography, electromagnetic testing, RFEC, iris, digital radiography, radiation detection RVI and endoscopy inspections. SGS also provides relevant NDT training courses including NDT ultrasonic testing courses and examinations suitable for PCN certification.