Recommended Practice for Ultrasonic Evaluation of Pipe Imperfections

API RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 5UE SECOND EDITION, JUNE 2005

ADDENDUM 1, APRIL 2009

REAFFIRMED, JULY 2020

Recommended Practice for Ultrasonic Evaluation of Pipe Imperfections

Upstream Segment

API RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 5UE SECOND EDITION, JUNE 2005

ADDENDUM 1, APRIL 2009

REAFFIRMED, JULY 2020

SPECIAL NOTES

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Copyright © 2005 American Petroleum Institute

FOREWORD

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CONTENTS

Page

1. SCOPE 1

2. REFERENCES 1

3. DEFINITIONS. 1

4. APPLICATION 4

   1. Basis for Inspection 4

   2. Applicability of Inspection 4

   3. Variability of Results 4

5. CERTIFICATION OF NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING PERSONNEL 4

6. PROVE-UP TECHNIQUE DESCRIPTIONS 4

   1. Amplitude comparison technique (ACT) 4

   2. Amplitude Distance Differential Technique (ADDT) 4

7. GENERAL INSPECTION CRITERIA 4

   1. Equipment 4

   2. Instrument and Transducer Equipment Calibration/Certification 4

   3. Reference Standards 5

   4. Transducer, Angle Beam Wedge and Couplant Criteria 5

   5. Instrument Criteria 6

8. STANDARDIZATION 6

   1. General 6

   2. Shear Wave Standardization 6

   3. Standardization Checks 7

9. INSPECTION PROCEDURES 7

   1. General 7

   2. Procedure 8

10. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA AND DISPOSITION 9

11. RECORDS 9

Figures

7.4.3.b 6

8.2.2.a 7

Page

A.1 11

1. 12

2. 13

1. 15

2. 15

3. 16

4. 16

5. 17

A.3.2 17

B.2 19

C-1 21

C-2 21

C-3 22

C-4 22

1. Skip in Weld Area 22

2. Skip in Parent Metal 22

D.1 24

D.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 09

Recommended Practice for Ultrasonic Evaluation of Pipe Imperfections

1. Scope

   1. This recommended practice describes procedures which may be used to "prove-up" the depth or size of imper- fections. Included in this practice are the recommended pro- cedures for ultrasonic prove-up inspection of new pipe using the Amplitude Comparison Technique and the Amplitude- Distance Differential Technique for evaluation of 1) surface breaking imperfections in the body of pipe and 2) surface breaking and subsurface imperfections in the weld area of electric resistance, electric induction or laser welded pipe and

      3) surface breaking and subsurface imperfections in the weld area of arc welded pipe. For the purpose of this document, pipe is defined as including casing, plain-end casing liners, tubing, plain-end drill pipe, line pipe, coiled line pipe, pup joints, coupling stock, and connector material.

   2. Prove-up inspection is a method to evaluate the radial depth of imperfections detected by automated inspection equipment or other nondestructive testing (NDT) tech- nique(s) to determine acceptance criteria compliance with the appropriate API specification.

   3. The recommended prove-up practices established within this document are intended as a guide, and nothing in this guide should be interpreted to prohibit the agency or owner from supplementing the guide with other techniques or extending existing techniques.

   4. This RP covers evaluation, a description of inspection methods, calibration and standardization procedures, and inspection personnel requirements for prove-up.

   5. Appendix A of this document is provided as an over- view to inform the user of the basis for the techniques out- lined in this RP.

   6. Appendix B of this document provides a procedure for determining if imperfections are surface breaking and a for- mula for calculating the sound path distance for a circumfer- ential or axial scan of a curved surface and a sample look-up table.

   7. Appendix C of this document is provided as an over- view to inform the user of the specifics for the evaluation of welds with filler metal.

   8. Appendix D of this document provides a procedure for

09 sizing planar non-surface breaking imperfections from the pipe’s outside surface.

1. References

   1. This recommended practice includes by reference, either in total or in part, the latest editions of the following API and industry standards, unless a specific edition is listed:

      API

      RP 5A5 Field Inspection of New Casing, Tubing, and Plain-end Drill Pipe

      Spec 5CT Casing and Tubing

      Spec 5D Drill Pipe

      Spec 5L Line Pipe

      RP 5L8 Field Inspection of New Line Pipe

      Std 5T1 Imperfection Terminology

      ASNT1

      SNT-TC-1A Personnel Qualification and Certification in Nondestructive Testing

      ASTM2

      E 317 Standard Practice for Evaluating Perfor- mance Characteristics of Ultrasonic Pulse-echo Testing Systems Without the Use of Electronic Measurement Instruments

      E 1065 Standard Guide for Evaluating Character- istics of Ultrasonic Search Units

      
      

2. Definitions

   The following terms are used frequently in the nondestruc- tive testing of pipe:

   1. A-scan: A method of data presentation utilizing a hor- izontal time-base that indicates distance or time and a vertical deflection from the base line that indicates amplitude.

   2. active peak memory: The capability of an instru- ment to retain an A-scan presentation while allowing instru- ment controls to be functionally active.

   3. agency: An entity contracted to inspect new pipe using the methods and criteria specified.

   4. Amplitude Comparison Technique (ACT): An ultrasonic prove-up method comparing the reflected signals from a reference indicator of known radial depth and an imperfection.

   5. Amplitude Distance Differential Technique (ADDT): An ultrasonic prove-up method comparing both the

1American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc., 1711 Arlington Lane, P.O. Box 28518, Columbus, Ohio 43228-0518.

2American Society for Testing and Materials, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428-2959.

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