What Is a LIXI Profiler System?

The Profiler utilizes a Gadolinium-153 (a relatively low energy and low activity source), engineered detection technology and proprietary software to provide with unique tool for pipe inspection.

The Lixi Profiler is a rapid scanning tool for insulated and non-insulated piping systems, supported by a computer to display the density of the piping in terms of material thickness.

There is no need to costly removal and replacement of insulation, no need to clean and prepare the pipe surface.

There is no need to wait for film results, the results are produced in real time so the results are immediate.

No need to rope off the work area for radiation safety.

The profiler can be used on the entire pipe, not just in spot area, faster, more completely,

Applications:

Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI)

Internal Corrosion

External Corrosion

Weld Line Identification

Pipe blockage

Changes in pipe schedule

With the Lixi Profiler the data can be seen instantly on screen. Pipe inspection can be performed on large lengths of pipe and the statistics will scroll on the monitor. The data scrolls can be monitored as the pipe is being inspected and/or the data can be transferred to another computer so that it can be viewed at a later date.

D Scan

D-scan refers to the image produced when the data collected from an ultrasonic inspection is plotted on an end view of the component. The true definition according to BS EN 1330-4:2000 is the 'Image of the results of an ultrasonic examination showing a cross-section of the test object perpendicular to the scanning surface and perpendicular to the projection of the beam axis on the scanning surface'.

The D-scan view is perpendicular to both the C-scan and the B-scan. However, like the C-scan, the D-scan usually shows ultrasonic data collected through the whole or part of the inspection volume.
The D-scan allows quick discrimination of indications along a weld by presenting their position in depth from the scanning surface. D-scans are often used in the presentation and analysis of TOFD data.

C Scan

The C-scan presentation provides a plan-type view of the location and size of test specimen features. The plane of the image is parallel to the scan pattern of the transducer. C-scan presentations are produced with an automated data acquisition system, such as a computer controlled immersion scanning system. Typically, a data collection gate is established on the A-scan and the amplitude or the time-of-flight of the signal is recorded at regular intervals as the transducer is scanned over the test piece. The relative signal amplitude or the time-of-flight is displayed as a shade of gray or a color for each of the positions where data was recorded. The C-scan presentation provides an image of the features that reflect and scatter the sound within and on the surfaces of the test piece.
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a two dimensional presentation of data displayed as a top or planar view of a test piece, similar in its graphic perspective to an x-ray image, where color represents the gated signal amplitude or depth at each point in the test piece mapped to its position. Planar images can be generated on flat parts by tracking data to X-Y position, or on cylindrical parts by tracking axial and angular position. For conventional ultrasound, a mechanical scanner with encoders is used to track the transducer's coordinates to the desired index resolution. The images that follow conceptually show C-scans of a reference block made with a conventional immersion scanning system using a focused immersion transducer.
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C-scan from a phased array system is very similar to the one from the conventional probe seen above. With phased array systems however, the probe is typically moved physically along one axis while the beam electronically scans along the other according to the focal law sequence. Signal amplitude or depth data is collected within gated region of interest just as in conventional C-scans. In the case of phased arrays, data is plotted with each focal law progression, using the programmed beam aperture.

B scan

A Single Value B-scan is commonly used with conventional flaw detectors and corrosion thickness gages to plot the depth of reflectors with respect to their linear position. The thickness is plotted as a function of time or position while the transducer is scanned along the part to provide its depth profile. Correlating ultrasonic data with actual transducer position allows a proportional view to be plotted and allows the ability to correlate and track data to specific areas of the part being inspected. This position tracking is typically done through the use of electromechanical devices known as encoders. These encoders are used in fixtures which are either manually scanned or in automated systems that move the transducer by a programmable motor-controlled scanner. In either case the encoder records the location of each data acquisition with respect to a desired user-defined scan pattern and index resolution.

In the case below, the B-scan shows two deep reflectors and one shallower reflector, corresponding to the positions of the side drilled holes in the test block.
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The B-scan presentations is a profile (cross-sectional) view of the test specimen. In the B-scan, the time-of-flight (travel time) of the sound energy is displayed along the vertical axis and the linear position of the transducer is displayed along the horizontal axis. From the B-scan, the depth of the reflector and its approximate linear dimensions in the scan direction can be determined. The B-scan is typically produced by establishing a trigger gate on the A-scan. Whenever the signal intensity is great enough to trigger the gate, a point is produced on the B-scan. The gate is triggered by the sound reflecting from the backwall of the specimen and by smaller reflectors within the material. In the B-scan image above, line A is produced as the transducer is scanned over the reduced thickness portion of the specimen. When the transducer moves to the right of this section, the backwall line BW is produced. When the transducer is over flaws B and C, lines that are similar to the length of the flaws and at similar depths within the material are drawn on the B-scan. It should be noted that a limitation to this display technique is that reflectors may be masked by larger reflectors near the surface.

The need for NDT

It is very difficult to weld or mold a solid object that has the risk of breaking in service, so testing at manufacture and during use is often essential. During the process of casting a metal object, for example, the metal may shrink as it cools, and crack or introduce voids inside the structure. Even the best welders (and welding machines) do not make 100% perfect welds. Some typical weld defects that need to be found and repaired are lack of fusion of the weld to the metal and porous bubbles inside the weld, both of which could cause a structure to break or a pipeline to rupture.
During their service lives, many industrial components need regular non-destructive tests to detect damage that may be difficult or expensive to find by everyday methods. For example:
• Aircraft skins need regular checking to detect cracks;
• Underground pipelines are subject to corrosion and stress corrosion cracking;
• Pipes in industrial plants may be subject to erosion and corrosion from the products they carry;
• Reinforced concrete structures may be weakened if the inner reinforcing steel is corroded;
• Pressure vessels may develop cracks in welds;
• The wire ropes in suspension bridges are subject to weather, vibration, and high loads, so testing for broken wires and other damage is important.
Finished machined parts, such as bearings, that have newly been assembled can be tested for missing pieces, such as a ball or roller bearing, or grease within the housing non-destructively with a checkweigher. A roller motor for a conveyor can be tested for the proper level of oil, without disassembling the finished product. Thousand of manufactured products can benefit from this form of testing.
Over the past centuries, swordsmiths, blacksmiths, and bell-makers would listen to the ring of the objects they were creating to get an indication of the soundness of the material. The wheel-tapper would test the wheels of locomotives for the presence of cracks, often caused by fatigue — a function that is now carried out by instrumentation and referred to as the acoustic impact technique.
Use of X-rays for NDT is a common way of examining the interior of products for voids and defects, although some skill is needed in using radiography to examine samples and interpret the results. Soft X-rays are needed for examining low density material like polymers, composites and ceramics.

NDT abbreviations

NDT abbreviations

NDT: Non Destructive testing.
ANDT: Advanced Non Destructive Testing.
PCN: Personnel Certification in Non-destructive testing.
ASNT: American Society for Non-Destructive Testing.
CWI: Certified Welding Inspector.
AWS: American Welding society.
NACE: National Association of Corrosion Engineers.
ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials
RT: Radiographic testing.
UT: Ultrasonic Testing.
MT: Magnetic Testing.
PT: Penetrate testing.
ToFD: Time of Flight Diffraction.
ECT: Eddy Current Testing.
IRIS: Internal Rotary Inspection System.
VT: Visual Testing.
LT: Leak sealing.
HT: Hardness Testing.
MFL: Magnetic Flux Leakage.
PMI: Positive material identification.
RFT: Remote Field Testing
AE: Acoustic Emission


ASME: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering

Above are not all NDT Abbreviations