Lévis, QC, Canada — Optical measurement is gaining in popularity in NDT applications. In its quest for efficiency, the oil & gas industry shows increasing interest for fast and reliable solutions in pipeline integrity assessment. Addressing the needs of the industry, Creaform has made major improvements that will aid in assessment with its new Pipecheck 3.0 version.

Pipecheck solution in action

One of the new capabilities of the Pipecheck software is the ability to separate material loss depth from mechanical damage deformation. Pipecheck software offers unique and sophisticated tools able to extract corrosion depth within a mechanical damage. All pipeline operators are aware of the potential impact of a catastrophic failure that complex or combined damage can lead to. Being able to measure accurately the damage contribution to pipeline integrity will directly increase the level of confidence in their pipeline integrity management program, resulting in a lower maintenance cost and a reduced risk of costly failure. Featuring numerous key functionalities that allow a better understanding of dents and localized surface deformations, this new version of Pipecheck will generate instant results, a key factor in the reduction of maintenance costs.

Another major improvement is the built-in straightening operation for assessment on field bends that is also available. In many cases, small mechanical damage is found on field bends, mainly introduced by human manipulation when building the pipeline or by soil movement, ice, etc. Traditional methods for depth measurement like pit gauge can’t be used accurately since the pipe curvature often introduces depths value that do not represent the material loss or pipe geometry deformations. To solve this issue and to improve efficiency and confidence in results, Pipecheck features a built-in straightening tool. The tool uses powerful algorithms that extracts pipe’s center-line and straightens the full segment. The material loss or mechanical damage can then be assessed with the virtual Pipecheck’s pit-gauge tool to report depths reading free of any pipe curvature.

Pipecheck 3.0 software offers sophisticated analysis, which allows a reliable damage assessment, resulting in lower maintenance costs and reduced risks of major failures.

For more information, visit www.creaform.com.