Wood Pole Inspection, Treatment, and Asset Management Introduction Utility pole asset management is an exciting market in North America that will exceed $100M in 2022. Utility poles are sourced from a variety of different materials including different wood species, painted carbon steel, galvanized carbon steel, stainless steel, and carbon fiber reinforced plastic (FRP). The goal of utility pole asset management is to extend the useful life of the asset maximize the lifetime e

Fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) tanks are common storage tanks for a wide variety of hazardous chemicals from hydrochloric acid to sodium hydroxide both with pHs ranging from 2 to 14, respectively. The resin layer is the designed to protect the tank shell from corrosion, or chemical attack, that can thin or penetrate through the resin layer and attack the structural layer. Many FRP tanks that store hazardous products a part of a closed process and therefore can not be r

Acoustic emission generated by composite pressure vessels, in theory, should be relatively straight forward to analyze and to draw conclusions from if damage is present and/or damage is progressing by measuring the amount of acoustic emission generated and/or the rate at which acoustic emission is detected. A high amplitude acoustic emission hit from the same source to sensor distance should, in theory, be from a more severe source than a lower amplitude hit. Similarly, a

Wood Pole Testing Thomas Hay Ph.D., P.E. Introduction to Wood Pole Testing Wood pole inspection is a surprisingly large inspection market which includes public and private utilities, municipalities, school districts, and many other private/public entities that own and maintain wood utility poles. Wood pole testing is primarily carried out using two nondestructive testing (NDT) methods — relative density measurements across the pole diameter and visual inspection. Density m

Ultrasonic testing of steel and aluminum U.S. DOT cylinders is required to recertify the cylinders every 5 or 10 years depending on the cylinder type. Ultrasonic testing of DOT cylinders is currently performed with automated ultrasonic testing systems that uses wheel probes, squirter systems, or water jet systems. The ultrasonic immersion systems are configured with two circumferential shear wave channel, two axial shear wave channels, and one longitudinal straight beam prob

Liquid Penetrant Testing (LPT) is a non-destructive testing (NDT) technique used to detect surface flaws that may not be detectable to the naked eye under standard lighting conditions. Liquid penetrant testing is typically used for non-magnetic metals to reveal surface flaws and in some cases plastics. Penetrant testing is one of the simplest and most economical non-destructive testing techniques. Additionally, it requires the least investment in personnel in terms of formal

Aluminum Sensitization and Non-destructive Testing Aluminum alloy ship hulls are utilized on many commercial and military ship platforms. Over their lifetime, they often require non-destructive and destructive testing. Among the common hulls that require such examination include CG 47 Class Cruisers, Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) – both Freedom and Independence variants – as well as Amphibious Assault Ships, Expeditionary Fast Transport, Landing Craft Air Cushions, Ship-to

Cement plants are large scale operations that require large scale machines to produce the materials required to build a wide variety of structures. The non-destructive testing requirements of a cement plant are very unique and required a broad range of NDT testing methods to assess reliably the critical plant infrastructure. Important cement plant machines and components that require non-destructive testing include cement ball mills, pinion gears, kilns and bull gears. NDT

Ultrasonic testing (UT) performed in immersion tanks or using squirters or bubblers is an established non-destructive testing technology for automated inspection of wide variety of steel, aluminum, and composite assets. Ultrasonic immersion testing lends itself to high volume and/or surface area inspection applications that required high degrees of location accuracy, precision and repeatability of ultrasonic testing results. Immersion testing using automation robotics may

Flow iron recertification is a multi-step process that involves asset tracking, equipment teardown and rebuild, sand blasting and repainting, visual inspection, ultrasonic thickness testing, magnetic particle testing, and hydrotesting. This article focuses on some of the inspection aspects of the recertification process. TKS’ Flow Iron AnalyticsTM is proven process that implements industry best practices across asset management/tracking and high-pressure component asset in

Introduction Flow accelerated corrosion (FAC), also termed flow assisted corrosion, is a phenomenon wherein carbon steel components with a protective film oxide degrade over time. FAC occurs only when the fluid is moving (not static), when it contains water, and is unsaturated in iron. It is imperative to understand FAC since it is different from simple erosion — the mechanisms of these two processes are different. In short, FAC does not require particle impingement, cavitati

Thomas R. Hay (PhD, PE) and Suhaib Zafar Introduction Eddy Current Testing (ECT) utilizes the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction — a magnet inducing electric currents in a conducting material (typically metals) that is moving relative to the magnet, or an alternating current (AC) causing a time-varying magnetic field [1]. The induced current is known as eddy current , and this in turn affects the current in the magnet. Typically, the magnet used is a coil, with alternat

There are a wide variety of testing methods that are commonly used within the field of non-destructive testing (NDT) including but not limited to ultrasonic testing, eddy-current testing, dye penetrant testing, and magnetic particle testing. There are many logistical and staging requirements for non-destructive testing projects that are related to physical access to the structure and safety concerns during the inspection. NDT project safety concerns include working at height

Non-destructive testing training courses are often rigorous and time intensive commitments. These courses often follow NDT topical, duration, and examination guidelines published by a multitude of acclaimed organizations within the industry. Among them include the American Society for Non-destructive Testing (ASNT), American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and International Standard Organization (ISO). A substantial market shift occurred in the late 1990s as personal

Welded steel bridges consist of many fracture critical members (FCMs) that are require periodic non-destructive testing (NDT) for fatigue crack detection. Fatigue cracks develop for several reasons including [1]: - Welded details that are susceptible to fatigue cracks - distortion-induced fatigue cracking - Many bridges are over 90 years old - Corrosion fatigue cracks, and - Increases in the number of heavy vehicles leading and d allowable leading to significant accumulation

Introduction Non-destructive testing (NDT) of welds with phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) and more recently the total focusing method / full matrix capture (TFM/FMC) are two excellent techniques to detect, locate and size weld defects. Compared to ultrasonic weld testing, PAUT provides more efficient volumetric testing, increases weld defect probability of detection (POD), and should improve flaw sizing given the same NDT inspector skill level. The Total Focusing Method

Introduction Acoustic emission testing (AET) is a well-established non-destructive testing (NDT) technology commonly used to detect fatigue cracks in steel and composite pressure vessels, above ground atmospheric storage tanks, and steel and concrete bridges. Acoustic emission testing is characterized as a passive NDT technique since it does not insert some type of energy into the structure to interrogate for material anomalies. The structure must be stressed to a level tha