Research for pipe wall thinning management improvement. Part 3. Current status and applicability of piping thinning inspection and monitoring technique

The improved pipe wall thinning management technologies have been developed, however it is still important measuring actual pipe wall thickness to confirm the tendency of thinning. In order to measure actual wall thickness, new techniques are applied in addition to the conventional ultrasonic wall thickness measurement or radiographic testing. The new techniques are developed according to various needs such as inspection of inaccessible area, wide range inspection in one time, monitoring during operation and so on. This paper introduces the applicable new and conventional wall thinning techniques with its characteristics, applicable area and accuracy, additionally issues for actual application. (author)