Advancement of NDT technologies through the European FP7 research for the benefit of SMEs funding scheme

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1 Advancement of NDT technologies through the European FP7 research for the benefit of SMEs funding scheme Tat Hean Gan and Graham Edwards TWI Ltd Cambridge, CB21 6AL, UK Telephone: +44 (0) Telefax: +44 (0) Abstract The European SMEs represent 99% of all enterprises in Europe and they contribute more than two thirds of European GDP and provide 75 million jobs in the private sector. They are therefore key to the implementation of the renewed Lisbon strategy for economic growth and employment. The EU Member States have earmarked a total of over 1.3 billion for funding SME research support over the duration of European Commission Framework Programme 7 ( ). There are over 15,000 NDT SMEs in Europe covering various industry sectors such as Oil and Gas, Petrochemical, Power Generation, Aerospace, Road transports, etc. This paper looks into how these NDT SMEs tap into the FP7 funding in order to further enhance their inspection technologies so that they can become more competitive in current economic climate. The Research for the benefit of SMEs programme has enabled these NDT SMEs to: - Outsource research work, - Increase their research efforts/capabilities, - Extend their networks, - Better exploit research results, - Acquire technological know-how by bridging the gap between research and innovation and - Develop new NDT systems and software. Through the Research for SME funding programme, TWI has assisted many SMEs in developing technologies such as phased array inspection of plastic pipes, condition monitoring of storage tank floors, a structural health monitoring system for ship s hulls, a digital radiography system for the volumetric examination of large scale safety critical pressure components, phased array ultrasonic inspection for volumetric examination of alumino-thermic rail welds, structural health monitoring of wind turbines, and many more, which will be described in the presentation. 1. Introduction European Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) make up of 99% of all enterprises in Europe. These SMEs contribute to over 67% of overall EU Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and these SMEs have created over 75 million jobs in the private sector (1).

2 Although these SMEs are actively creating wealth for the European market, not all SMEs are able to carry out active Research and Development (R&D) activities internally. Some of the SMEs do not have good research facilities and some only have limited resources to carry out research work. For these reasons, the European Union (EU) has created R&D programmes through Capacities Calls to benefit the SMEs in Europe in order to bridge the gap between research and innovation. In this paper, we look into how TWI has helped various SMEs to carry out research to improve their Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and Condition Monitoring (CM) technologies. This help was provided through the FP7 Research for the Benefit of SMEs (R4S) programme. In this programme, the EC has invested over 1.3 billion of R&D funding to support EU SMEs. Figure 1 shows the budget distribution of the R4S programme from This programme has enabled the SMEs that are involved in NDT and CM to outsource their R&D activities to well-known research providers such as TWI (2) and Brunel University (3) as they are well equipped with the research facilities, equipment and know-how required by the SMEs. Through TWI, the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of certain NDT and CM technologies has also improved from TRL 3-4 to TRL 6-7. Some of the advanced NDT and CM solutions provided include, but are not limited to (4) : Phased array ultrasonic inspection of dissimilar metal joints Detection of safety critical cracks and corrosion in ships using novel sensors and systems based on ultrasonic linear phased array technology Development of a novel x-ray inspection system for fast automated detection of counterfeit printed circuit board (PCB) components Development of a new and novel quality control system for the inspection of titanium components in safety critical applications in the aerospace industry Neural Net based defect detection system using Long Range Ultrasonic Testing (LRUT) technology for aircraft structure health monitoring. These SMEs benefit from the Intellectual Property (IP) generated from the research programme, which can be exploited using their own market/network and also through over 3000 TWI member companies worldwide. An example of R4S technology outsource activity is shown in Figure 2. Figure 1: FP7 R4S budget distribution from

3 EU SMEs Investing in Research Results & IPR RTD Performer e.g. TWI End users Figure 2: Concept of R4S programme Each R4S project has a maximum budget of 1.5million over a period of 2 years with a consortium size of 2-3 Research performers and 3-5 EU SMEs. The R4S project has dissemination activities (via conferences, workshops, seminars), which allow the SMEs to widen their business network and improve their brand name. In order to illustrate how the EU SMEs have benefited from the R4S research projects, two projects have been described in this paper: i) RAILECT Ultrasonic Phased Array Volumetric Assessment of Aluminothermic Rail Welds ii) SUBCTEST - Development of novel inspection NDT techniques and robots to be deployed by remote operating vehicles (ROVs) for the subsea inspection of offshore structures 2. R4S Project Description 2.1 RAILECT Project Introduction Rail flaw detection has an important part to play in ensuring the safety of railroads. Recent accidents, such as the Hatfield disaster in the UK in 2000 caused by broken rail, have focused attention on the technologies that enable the detection of flaws in rails and rail welds. The FP7 RAILECT project funded European SMEs, namely KCC (UK), Vermon (France), SpreeNDT (UK) and Optel (Poland), to develop a novel automated phased array ultrasonic NDT system for alumino-thermic rail welds. One of the aims of the project was to provide a fast commercial and marketable solution to the rail industry (5). The project focused on European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) 60E2 and CEN 56E1 European standards rail welds (Figure 3), which are commonly used within Europe. The aim of the project was to create a versatile system that can adapt to the shape of both new and old type of alumino-thermic rail welds. 3

4 Figure 3: Dimension of the three different rail profiles currently in use. The project looked into three types of defects namely porosity, lack of fusion and shrinkage (Figure 4). These defects were considered the most common type of defects leading to potential failure of the rail weld when in service and hence critical to rail safety. The rail foot was more predisposed to the lack of fusion defect, whereas the shrinkage defect was more likely to be located in the web of the rail. Unlike porosity, lack of fusion and shrinkage were more likely to be found in specific areas of the rail weld. These observations were critical features to take into account for the design of the ultrasonic phased array system. ESBeam and CIVA modelling work was carried out to determine the maximum weld coverage with minimum scanning requirement and fast response from different defect types. An example of the modelling output using 32- element phased array is shown in Figure 5. Figure 4: Types of defects in rail welds 4

5 Figure 5: Modelling experiments using CIVA software showing beam coverage RAILECT System Design and Development The inspection of the rail weld head and web was easily covered using 32 element phased array probes, however the inspection of the rail foot and toes was more complex, due to the constraints dictated by the geometry and dimensions of the rail in these areas. Once the probe had been designed, commercial phased array instrument and software were used to acquire the data during inspection. Focal laws were developed during the laboratory trials and optimised prior to being set up and saved in the instrument. Initially, each focal law would be loaded and used one at a time, but in practice their application can be controlled to enable an automatic sequencing that facilitates an automated inspection of the joint. The output data were collected for analysis and compared with the acceptance criteria by means of a MATLAB routine specifically developed for this application. Figure 6 shows the images of defective rail welds collected from the RAILECT system across the foot and web. (a) a) b) Figure 6: Phased array images of defective rail welds (a) rail foot containing two 2mm side drilled holes in the rail and (b) weld with porosity Preliminary conclusion The system developed during the project validated the RAILECT concept and proved to be reliable and technically valuable. Figure 7 shows the system trial activity at Network Rail. Since the end of the RAILECT project, the SMEs (KCC, Vermon, Optel and SpreeNDT) and TWI have been actively involved in further developing the prototype by improving the TRL so that it can be adapted for its entry into the market. This has been done through various national and European funding routes. Vermon, KCC and 5

6 SpreeNDT have also filed an international patent application regarding the method of inspection and associated apparatus (App. N Ultrasonic method and device for volumetric examination of alumino-thermic rail welds). Extensive market research has also been carried out with various contractors and rail operators. 2.2 SUBCTEST Project Figure 7: RAILECT System trial at Network Rail Introduction The R4S SUBCTEST project was funded to benefit European SMEs by developing their existing NDT and robotic technologies and techniques into new offshore sub-sea inspection applications. The participating SMEs; Dacon (Norway), Vermon (France), I&T Nardoni (Italy) and General Robotics (UK), have enhanced their NDT technology base by becoming specialist providers of the service to offshore oil and gas operators. They have drawn on their in-house research capability and also that of the participating research organisations (e.g. TWI), who have supplied R&D to the SMEs on a subcontract basis and to a work-scope defined by them. The SUBCTEST project has developed a novel prototype robotic manipulator that can be deployed from an observation class ROV for the inspection of sub-sea platform structures (including those in deep water). The manipulator uses special NDT techniques and systems that can be applied for the examination of critical welds in steel platform support jackets and detect and evaluate corrosion/erosion in risers and import/export pipelines carrying hydrocarbon products. The NDT techniques, systems and sensors developed for sub-sea ROV deployment via purpose built marinised sub-sea robotic manipulators developed in the project included: 1. Alternating Current Field Measurement (ACFM) for the surface and near surface examination of critical sub-sea jacket welds on structural tubulars, support legs and node sections. 2. Phased Array Automated Ultrasonic Testing (PA - AUT) for the volumetric examination of critical sub-sea jacket welds on structural tubulars, support legs and node sections. 3. Long Range Ultrasonic Testing (LRUT) using guided ultrasonic waves for the examination of sub-sea flow lines, oil & gas import and export lines, risers and jacket legs for corrosion and other volumetric defects. 6

7 The project has also developed: 1. Sub-sea data link for transferring inspection data from the NDT sensor systems via periodic intervention by the ROV. 2. Prototype scanning manipulators that could inspect the specified agreed configuration(s) using ACFM and PA-AUT and incorporating cameras for visual inspection and observing sensor movement SUBCTEST System Design and Development for ROV deployment The SUBCTEST project set out to develop equipment and procedures for detecting defects caused by in-service damage, namely surface cracks, both external and internal, in nodes, corrosion and fatigue cracks at the touch-down points of risers, weld root corrosion in flow lines. Four types of development were achieved through this project: For the nodes, an ACFM technique that could detect external surface cracks in the weld toes and a PAUT technique that could detect internal surface cracks emanating from internal stiffeners. For the flow lines, a multi-skip PAUT technique for detecting weld root corrosion with the probe stood-off from the weld, and an LRUT technique that could detect defects in welds at either end of a pipe spool from one test location anywhere along its length. For the touch-down point in risers, an LRUT technique for scanning the surfaces of the riser for corrosion and fatigue cracking from one test location. This paper only highlights the development of the LRUT system for scanning surfaces of the riser for corrosion and fatigue cracking from one test location. The aim of the LRUT development was to provide a technique which could test welds at either end of a spool from LRUT transducers placed anywhere along the spool. The spools are generally in 40ft lengths. The LRUT method uses guided waves that are generated from rings of transducers wrapped around the pipe. Guided waves are the pipe-equivalent of plate or Lamb waves, but are complicated by the existence of multiple wave modes propagating at different velocities, that vary with frequency. Under certain test conditions propagation distances of over 100m are achievable, through which areas of corrosion, both on the external and internal surfaces of the pipe, are detectable. At much shorter ranges, a much higher level of sensitivity is achieved by using the transducers in the rings as a phased array to focus flexural waves at a point around the weld circumference and orbiting this point around the weld (Figure 8). 7

8 Figure 8: LRUT focused data to inspect a weld The point where the horizontal flow-line rises from the sea bed to the vertical riser is the most sensitive to fatigue damage. Using a dynamically focused LRUT technique that could scan this area from a fixed point would be highly advantageous (Figure 9). Indeed it may be more cost-effective to use a permanently installed phased array transducer ring that is periodically visited by the ROV to collect data. Figure 9: LRUT dynamic focusing 8

9 Most engineering associated with equipment for ROV deployment can be described as agricultural, that is to say it is over-engineered, with massive components and crude control systems. The challenge in SUBCTEST was to reduce the mass of the manipulator that carried the ACFM, PAUT or LRUT transducers or sensors to a level that could be deployed by an observation class ROV, so that it met the requirements of ROV operator within the project consortium. The first hurdle was the realisation that one manipulator could not satisfy all the techniques. The requirements for the ACFM sensor and PAUT probe included one for a scanning motion; the LRUT transducer ring did not. The second was that the cost of connectors for the cabling between the sensors or transducers and the instrumentation is very expensive for offshore use. Because of the high mass of the LRUT manipulator, considerable effort was expended in the design stage to keep the buoyancy of the equipment as high as possible, so that its submerged load was as low as possible. This involved designing components where the volume of the displaced water matched as closely as possible their in-air mass (Figure 10). For the observation-class ROV stipulated in the SUBCTEST project, the limit was set at 10% of ROV weight or 20kg. The manipulator system included housings for a pump, electronics and valve manifold. Electric actuators, which would have been simpler to use on the manipulator than hydraulic ones, could not be used as they were not fail-safe. The actuators had to incorporate an Emergency Disconnect and Release (EDR) system to release the ROV if the power failed, while the LRUT clamp was locked on the pipe. However, the alternative hydraulic actuators presented other problems. Oil is a prohibited pollutant and sea water could only be used in very large hydraulic systems. It was therefore decided to use vegetable oil. The number of actuators on the clamp had been reduced to three. One instead of two actuators on jaw levers was achieved by using the bracket, commonly seen on mechanical diggers, placed across the pivot. The clamp locking pin has a sensor to ensure the clamp is locked tight before inflation of the collar. Novel designs saved considerable costs. In general there were savings made on all the switches, connectors and cabling used in SUBCTEST. The knowledge and experience obtained could be exploited in other subsea devices. For the ultrasound transducers used in LRUT, an equal pressure must be applied to each transducer in the ring. This is done in conventional land-based LRUT equipment for surrounding the transducers by an inflatable collar. Vegetable oil had to be substituted for air in the inflatable collar; otherwise there would have been pressure equalisation problems under hyperbaric pressure. As the inflation mat around the collar had to be divided into three sections in the clamp design, a more even pressure distribution around the collar was achieved than with conventional LRUT collars. The control system for the manipulator was separate from that for the ROV and has been incorporated in a novel games controller. 9

10 Figure 10: LRUT manipulator components Preliminary conclusions European Framework 7 SUBCTEST project has developed a versatile NDT tool that can be deployed from an observation class ROV. It can employ a number of NDT techniques for inspecting sub-sea jacket structures, risers, flow lines and mooring chains. 3. Conclusions This paper has presented two examples of innovative NDT projects where the European SMEs can benefit from the R4S programme. These projects have benefited European SMEs by bringing the technologies to a higher TRL. Some of the key developments through these projects were: Novel sensor development (e.g. for guided wave and phased array generation and reception) Software for signal processing and pattern recognition Electronics systems for data communication and automation Marinisation of equipment for subsea application. The development of advanced NDT technologies through the FP7 programme has benefited many NDT organisations through: Elimination of labour intensive and monotonous inspection tasks. Elimination of the need for an operator to work in hazardous environments. 10

11 Elimination of operator stress and error caused by the need for great attention to detail and NDT process variability. Elimination of subjective data interpretation. Acknowledgements The author would like to acknowledge the European Community s Seventh Framework (FP7) Programme managed by REA-Research Executive Agency for the funding of the RAILECT (Grant Agreement FP7-SME ) and SUBCTEST (GA FP7- SME ) projects References A. Raude, T. Colombier, J. Rudlin, E. Jasiuniene, G. Kotsikos, RAILECT- The Solution for Volumetric Assessment of Aluminothermic Rail Welds, 18th World Conference of Non-destructive Testing, April 2012, Durban, South Africa 11