Ultrasonic inspection of adhesive joints of composite pipelines

• Main Authors: de Almeidaa Priscila Duarte, Alcoforado Rebello João Marcos, Pereira, Gabriela Ribeiro, Soares, Sérgio Damasceno, Fernandez, Roman
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adhesive joints; Adhesives; Computer simulation; Glass fiber reinforced plastics; Inspection; Pipelines; Software development; Structural weight; Transducers; Ultrasonic testing
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4864939

Composite pipelines are an attractive solution when traditional materials are not suitable for this purpose, which happens frequently at aggressive environments and also where the structural weight is a limiting factor. This work studies the application of the ultrasonic technique at the detection of defects as lack of adhesive and lack of adhesion, commonly found in adhesive joints of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) pipelines applied at onshore and offshore facilities. Computational simulations were conducted in CIVA 11© software (beta version) in order to obtain the best possible configuration for the inspections, applying the pulse-echo technique. Experimental results were compared to these simulations and several transducers were tested. An inspection methodology and reference blocks were developed for the calibration of the inspections. Some samples were selected for cutting in order to compare the ultrasonic results and the real condition of the joints. Results show that smaller frequencies are suitable for the inspection of this material and focused probes present more accurate results.