A North American operator required inspection of a liquid propane line critical to the company’s business. This 6" thin-walled liquid propane line is an extremely difficult environment for conventional ultrasonic inline inspection (ILI) methods.
The medium’s volatility can cause variations in sound velocity from 1,520 mph (680 m/s) to as high as 2,235 mph (1000 m/s), depending on pipeline pressure and temperature. This large swing degrades the accuracy of ordinary tools and can render them ineffective.