An innovative, rapid pipe inspection system, developed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), was selected among the 100 most significant technical accomplishments of 1998, according to R&D Magazine.

Winners, determined by R&D Magazine in collaboration with a panel of experts, are selected from hundreds of entries submitted by companies, research organizations, national laboratories, and universities worldwide.

"Magnetostrictive sensor (MsS) technology provides engineers with a fast, cost-effective means of inspecting steel pipes and tubes in processing and power generating plants for the oil, gas, and chemical industries," says Dr. Hegeon Kwun, pioneer developer of the technology. Kwun is a principal scientist in the Department of NDE Science and Technology in SwRI’s Instrumentation and Space Research Division.

MsS inspection technology launches elastic waves in frequencies up to several hundred kHz and detects the signals reflected from any defects, such as corrosion or cracking. The technique provides 100-percent volumetric inspection, can examine several hundred feet of pipe from a single sensor location, is noncontacting and thus needs no couplant, and does not require the removal of insulation before inspecting a pipe except for a few feet of insulation for sensor placement. Defects as small as one percent of the cross section can be detected, as can localized wall thinning.

"At present, examination of these pipes often requires equipment shutdown and insulation removal, which is both time-consuming and expensive," says Dr. Glenn Light, director of SwRI’s NDE Science and Technology Department. "In 1996, the Institute organized an industrial consortium that now has 11 members, who are applying and evaluating MsS inspection in the field. We are also, with strong industrial encouragement, applying the technology to other forms of equipment."

Other members of the NDE Science and Technology Department that contributed to the development of MsS technology include Senior Research Engineer Dr. Keith Bartels in the area of data analysis, Engineer Christopher Dynes for data acquisition, Principal Engineer Ronald Peterson for electronic hardware design, Senior Research Scientist Joseph Brophy and Research Assistant Robert Spinks for field applications, and Senior Technician Thomas Wall III for electronic hardware fabrication.