Nondestructive characterization of pipeline materials

There is a growing need to quantitatively and nondestructively evaluate the strength and toughness properties of pipeline steels, particularly in aging pipeline infrastructure. These strength and toughness properties, namely yield strength, tensile strength, transition temperature, and toughness, are essential for determining the safe operating pressure of the pipelines. For some older pipelines crucial information can be unknown, which makes determining the pressure rating difficult. Current inspection techniques address some of these issues, but they are not comprehensive. This paper will briefly discuss current inspection techniques and relevant literature for relating nondestructive measurements to key strength and toughness properties. A project is in progress to provide new in-trench tools that will give strength properties without the need for sample removal and destructive testing. Preliminary experimental ultrasonic methods and measurements will be presented, including velocity, attenuation, and ...