Pinholes
Just a few millimeters in size, pinholes pose an outsized threat to pipeline operators. The inability to detect pinholes reduces your window to make critical repairs or add important anomalies to your watchlist. Ultra-High Resolution (UHR) ILI from ENTEGRA® utilizes a higher number of sensors and a higher sampling rate for greater visibility of pinholes and a more thorough, reliable pipeline inspection.
Pinholes, as defined by POF and API 1163, are pipeline anomalies that are up to 10A X 10A in size (where A is the greater of wall thickness or 10mm). They may be produced by microbial-induced corrosion (MIC), AC-induced corrosion, other localized corrosion, illegal taps or manufacturing anomalies. However they occur, deep pinholes put pipelines at risk for vital loss of product and environmental contamination.
Even the smallest pinholes can be deep, and lead to leaks.
Ex: Internal manufacturing pinhole in the long seam
Pinholes are so small, pipeline operators used to have to rely on in-the-ditch non-destructive evaluation methods to measure them reliably. Historically, pinholes were not even located on a proactive basis. ENTEGRA UHR technology enables pinhole detection through a convenient MFL ILI process. ENTEGRA UHR ILI is capable of characterizing anomalies as small as 3 mm x 3 mm, with a high rate of success in just a single run. The extremely detailed data gathered through our advanced UHR ILI technology is then interpreted by expert data analysts, each with many years of experience in pipeline integrity. These analysts add critical context to the data captured in the ILI process, reducing the risk of leaks, unnecessary digs and costly shutdowns.
It is crucial to have the right technology, and the right team, on your side when approaching these potentially consequential anomalies.
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