UltraWave Long-Range Pipe Inspection Level 2

Course Overview

This training course provides guided wave inspectors with knowledge and hands-on experience with advanced theory, data collection procedures, and data analysis for basic advanced pipe configurations. Participants will also receive preliminary instruction in the inspection of attenuative coated and buried lines, cased road crossings, and other advanced testing scenarios. The course comprises lectures, in-class data review, hands-on data collection, and independent data review. The course is approximately 60/40 in-class lecture to practical hands-on and data review work. The course concludes with a written examination, a practical examination, and an analysis/reporting examination.

Objectives

Successful graduates of this course should:

• be able to direct Level 1 inspectors in the proper hardware setup and data collection procedures with the UltraWave LRT system on basic and basic advanced pipelines
• be able to analyze and review UltraWave guided wave data from basic and basic advanced pipelines
• be able to collect and analyze UltraWave guided wave data for defects in and beyond elbows, in or near welds, at pipe supports and wall penetrations, and in close proximity to other features
• have a fundamental understanding of guided wave data collection and analysis of guided wave data on attenuative coated and buried pipelines, cased road crossings, and other advanced configurations
• be capable of drafting guided wave inspection procedures for the UltraWave LRT system in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations
• have the tools to oversee guided wave operations including managing inspectors, interacting with clients, and conducting pre-job site walk downs with clients and inspectors

Course Topics

1. Fundamentals
   1. Responsibilities of Level 1, 2, and 3 guided wave inspectors
   2. Review of Level 1 material
2. Guided Wave Program Management
   1. Common defects and corrosion mitigation strategies in pipelines
   2. Guided waves in the framework of a pipeline integrity management program
   3. Pre-job site evaluation for guided wave testing
   4. Suggestions for guided wave program management strategies
   5. Inspection procedure development for Level 1 and Level 2 inspectors
3. Standards and Codes Related to Guided Wave Testing
   1. Fundamental review of ASTM E2775-11 standard
   2. Standards currently under development
4. Guided Wave Testing in Basic Advanced Pipe Configurations
   1. Effects of various structural features and pipe schedule on guided wave data
   2. Proper test site selection on basic advanced pipelines
   3. Advanced system settings and their effects on guided wave data
5. Guided Wave Testing in Attenuative Coated and Buried Pipelines
   1. Challenges of attenuative pipelines
   2. Guided wave theory in attenuative pipelines
   3. Predicting and measuring attenuation and penetration power
   4. Maximizing penetration power
   5. Reviewing attenuative pipeline data
6. Guided Wave Testing of Cased Road Crossings
   1. Fundamentals of cased road crossing construction
   2. Regions of concern in cased road crossings
   3. PHMSA guidelines for guided wave testing of cased road crossings
7. Analysis of Basic Advanced Guided Wave Data
   1. Review of Level 1 analysis procedures
   2. Analyzing complex and unknown pipeline geometries
   3. Identifying structural features and defects from guided wave data
   4. Defects in close proximity to welds, elbows, pipe supports, etc.
   5. Inspecting beyond an elbow
   6. Guided wave shots with large features in the nearfield
   7. Properly utilizing the suppression algorithm
   8. Measuring and understanding attenuation of guided waves

Scope

This course is intended to improve a Level 1 UltraWave LRT inspector’s understanding of guided waves in pipes, provide them with the knowledge and tools to collect high-quality guided wave data on basic and basic advanced pipelines and analyze data from these pipelines, prepare them to manage Level 1 guided wave personnel and interact with clients, and to provide them with a fundamental understanding of guided wave inspection of advanced pipelines such as attenuative coated and buried lines and cased road crossings. Basic advanced pipelines are considered to be above-ground pipelines with mildly attenuative coatings that contain features such as elbows, branches, T’s, supports, etc. and may contain defects in and beyond elbows, in and near welds, at pipe supports and wall penetrations, and in close proximity to structural features. The scope of this course is based on international standards and practices, which suggest that additional 3-day specialty courses and exams be taken for advanced pipeline applications such as attenuative coated and buried lines and cased road crossings.

Prerequisites

Students planning on participating in this course are expected to have:

• attended and successfully completed the Level 1 UltraWave training course.
• carried out and reviewed 250 guided wave tests.