Media Release
T.D. Williamson Increases Confidence in Selective Seam Weld Corrosion (SSWC) Detection
Industry now has compliant validated classifier for better integrity management decisions.
August 22, 2022, Salt Lake City – T.D. Williamson (TDW), the global pipeline solutions provider, announced the release of a performance specification for classifying pipeline selective seam weld corrosion (SSWC).
According to Matthew Romney, senior product manager – MDS™ & EMAT at the TDW Global Center of Excellence, pipeline operators can confidently make integrity decisions based on validated SSWC classification performance.
SSWC is a time-dependent pipeline integrity threat. It occurs when the pipeline long seam is exposed to a corrosive environment and corrosion preferentially attacks the long seam compared to the nearby base pipe material. The result is a deep, often V-shaped groove in the seam.
The validated SSWC classifier leverages the TDW MDS™ (Multiple Datasets) platform, which improves SSWC detection by combining conventional magnetic flux leakage (MFL) and SpirALL® MFL (SMFL) technologies.
SSWC features are axially oriented and have been difficult to identify and characterize with traditional MFL tools alone. Because the SSWC groove runs parallel to the axial MFL magnetic field, the MFL tool often under-calls the corrosion depth and fails to identify coincidence with the long seam at all.
The spiral nature of SMFL technology detects the long seam position and improves detection and characterization of the SSWC anomaly.
The classifier has been used on over 75 inspections since TDW first produced it. The company has now validated the performance specification by collecting field results from operators associated with these inspections.
“The validated specification allows operators to defend their decisions to regulators and to optimize utilization of sometimes limited maintenance budgets by mitigating more serious pipeline threats first,” Romney said. “TDW is grateful to the operators who provided the valuable in-ditch non-destructive evaluation results required to validate the classifier.”
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About T.D. Williamson
T.D. Williamson (TDW) draws upon more than 100 years of industry expertise and experience to help operators keep their pipelines running safely and reliably. An unmatched portfolio of solutions for the life of a pipeline including pigging, intervention and isolation, and integrity supports the industry in protecting the environment and moving toward a more sustainable energy future.