SEIL-TECH-SOP-PCRT
SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC Issue 01
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Revision D
NDT Procedure for Profile Computed
Radiography Testing Page 1 of 14
GENERAL NDT PROCEDURE FOR PROFILE COMPUTED
RADIOGRAPHY TESTING
Y V Swamy K Pramasivam
Issued for Internal ASNT Level III UT RT MT Chief
D 20.01.2020 11
Review & Approval PT VT &ET Technical
ASNT #195487 Officer
Y V Swamy
K Pramasivam
Issued for Internal ASNT Level III UT RT MT
C 11.11.2017 11 Chief Technical
Review & Approval PT VT &ET
Officer
ASNT #195487
Y V Swamy K Pramasivam
Issued for Internal
B 11.01.2014 11 ASNT Level III UT RT MT Chief Technical
Review & Approval
PT &VT Officer
Y V Swamy K Pramasivam
Issued for Internal
A 22.10.2013 11 ASNT Level III UT RT & Chief Technical
Review & Approval
MT Officer
Prepared By Reviewed By
Rev. Date Page Description
M/s. Sievert Emirates Inspection LLC
SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC SEIL-TECH-SOP-PRT
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision D
Page 2 of 14
TABLE OF CONTENTS
[Link]. DESCRIPTIONS
1 SCOPE
2 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
3 TECHNIQUE
4 PERSONNEL QUALIFICATION
5 EQUIPMENT
6 EXPOSURE PARAMETERS
7 MEASUREMENT
8 REPORT & SAMPLE IMAGES
SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC SEIL-TECH-SOP-PRT
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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1. SCOPE
This procedure establishes requirements for measuring the thickness and / or to determine the
areas of corrosion or erosion (internal or external) for all Process & Utility Equipment and pipe work
system of pipe using Computed radiographic profile techniques.
2. REFERENCE DOCUMENTS:
ASME Section V-2019 Ed Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for Non Destructive
2.1
Testing
2.2 ASTM E2007 - 10(2016) ASTM E2007 - 10(2016)
2.3 ASTM E – 94 Standard Guide for Radiographic Testing
Written practice for Training and Certification of
2.4 SEIL-TECH-SOP-TCN
Personnel
2.5 SEIL-TECH-SOP-RSP Procedure for Radiation Safety & Emergency
3. TECHNIQUE
Each RP (Recording Point) shall be permanently marked. This shall be done by the Client’s
representative on site. For insulated pipe, the RP shall be marked on the insulation sheathing. Each
radiograph shall be marked, as a minimum, with the following information: date radiograph was
taken, isometric drawing number, and TML location.
4. PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS
Sievert technicians performing the actual radiography shall be certified as Level-II in radiography
Personnel certification shall be in accordance with the requirements of SNT-TC-1A. As a minimum,
the technician shall receive four hours of formal training based totally on the principles of profile
radiography. This training is required over and above that required for training in radiation safety
and general isotope radiation principles.
5. EQUIPMENT
5.1 RADIATION SOURCE
The radiation source either Ir-192 shall be placed so that the centre of the radiation beam strikes the
interface between the comparator and the pipe wall, and is at a right angle to the film (figure-1).
For insulated piping, the radiation source shall be placed (as close as reasonably possible) so that the
centre of the radiation beam is halfway between the pipe OD and the outside of the insulation, and is
at a right angle to the plane of film (figure-2).
SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC SEIL-TECH-SOP-PRT
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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5.2 COMPARATOR ASSEMBLY
A comparator shall be placed directly at the RP benchmark. Comparator is of either 6mm or 22.0 mm
diameter steel sphere with a tolerance of 0.05 mm (or 1.000 inch diameter with a tolerance of "0.001
inch).
A material which is transparent to gamma rays and approximately 3 mm thick, shall be around the
comparator first and the lead over the transparent material. The transparent material may be duct
tape, plastic tubing, a Plexiglas tube, etc. The sphere, transparent material, and lead cover is called a
comparator assembly.
When making radiographs of non-insulated austenitic stainless steel or any high alloy material
(even at ambient temperature), a thin layer of tape or other coating, not to exceed 1 mm thick, shall
cover the lead on the comparator assembly to prevent it from coming in contact with the pipe metal.
At high temperatures lead may cause cracking of austenitic materials.
For hot piping (of any material), where the lead may melt, the comparator assembly cannot come
into contact with the pipe. A method must be devised which will still indicate comparator assembly
contact or superposition with the pipe and also provide thermal insulation to the lead around the
comparator. An acceptable method is to use a comparator assembly which does not use lead but
steel around the comparator sphere. In this case, a thickness of approximately 6 mm of steel shall be
used. A 6 mm thick wall steel tube with the comparator sphere centered in the tube is acceptable.
5.3 LEAD STRIP
Lead, approximately 1.5 mm thick shall enclose the comparator to prevent over-exposure (burn-off)
of the comparator edges.
5.4 CR Equipment & Image Plates
➢ KODAK INDUSTREX HPX-1 (with Accessories)
➢ CR PHOSPHOR PLATES 10X24 CM
➢ CR PHOSPHOR PLATES 10X40 CM
➢ CR PHOSPHOR PLATES 30 X 40 CM
➢ CR PHOSPHOR PLATES 25 X 20 CM
➢ CR PHOSPHOR PLATES 35 X 43 CM
The weld will be inspected with the source on the outside. An overlap of at least 30mm at
the ends of each Image plate shall be required to ensure that the first and last location
increment numbers are common to successive Image plates and to establish that no part
of a weld has been omitted.
SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC SEIL-TECH-SOP-PRT
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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6. EXPOSURE PARAMETERS
6.1 Ovality
The geometry of the exposure set-up shall be such that distortion (oval ness) of the radiographic
image of the comparator sphere is less than 3% (0.6 mm for a 20.0 mm ball).
6.2 Blow-Up
The minimum source-to-film distance (SFD) shall be such that the comparator image blow-up does
not exceed 20%.
6.3 S.F.D
Taking half the pipe diameter plus the insulation thickness and multiplying by six gives the minimum
SFD.
The formula would be:
Minimum SFD = (half of pipe OD + insulation thickness) x 6
6.4 Overlap
The comparator assembly shall be in contact with the pipe OD or insulation sheath. The geometry of
the exposure set-up shall be such that the radiographic image of the comparator assembly does not
superimpose the radiographic image of the pipe wall by more than 3 mm for non-insulated piping, or
3 mm superposition over the pipe insulation for insulated piping.
6.5 Contrast & Resolution
A 1.5 mm thick x 100 mm wide lead strip shall be placed in between the radiographic film cassette
and the object to cover the area of interest. The strip shall be long enough to fully cover the diameter
of the pipe and the insulation. This strip provides shielding that decreases subject contrast and aids
in the ability to accurately resolve the pipe OD. This lead strip shall be free of any crimps or other
discontinuities that interfere with the interpretation of the radiographic image. This includes the
total pipe image under the lead strip, not just at the wall thickness image.
When making radiographs of austenitic stainless steel or high alloy pipe without insulation (at any
temperature), the lead strip shall not come in contact with the metal. A layer of tape or thermal
insulation between the lead strip and the pipe is acceptable to meet this requirement.
6.6 Imaging Plates Processing
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PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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Step: 1 Unload the Phosphor plates from the cassette.
Step: 2 Insert the Imaging Plates into the scanner tray and scan the Images with the desired
pixels and resolution.
Step: 3 After scanning the images, erase the Imaging plates and re use them.
Step: 4 Save the scanned image in the system and apply filters to enhance the image
characteristics till we get the desired quality.
Step: 5 Now measure the thickness of the pipe as described in the next section.
Imaging plates shall be handled in such a manner that the phosphor coating is not damaged and
finger print or other marks are not observed on image during processing.
7. MEASUREMENT
7.1 MEASURING THE THICKNESS OF THE RP USING COMPARATOR- CONVENTIONAL FILM
TECHNIQUE
SIEVERT radiographer shall measure the thickness of the RP on each radiograph. The Client’s
Pressure Equipment Inspector shall be notified in a timely manner if a condition is found which is
judged to affect the pressure retaining integrity of the pipe.
Thickness measurements of the RP shall be taken directly under the comparator within the area
covered by the width of the comparator. A scribe or other sharp instrument shall be used to make a
scratch mark or hole on the radiograph indicating exactly where the wall thickness and comparator
diameter was measured. The wall and comparator measurements shall be made to 1 decimal place,
say - 8.3 mm. It is recommended that either dial or digital callipers be used to make the
measurement of the wall thickness at the RP. The corrected wall thickness (t) will be determined by
multiplying the pipe image at the RP (measured thickness) by a blow-up factor determined by the
true dimension of the comparator divided by the dimension of the comparator image on the
radiograph.
The following formula can be used:
True..comparator..diameter
WT ..corrected = WT ..measured
Measured..comparator..diameter
The measured and corrected RP thickness shall be recorded on the film using a grease pencil or
SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC SEIL-TECH-SOP-PRT
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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similar marker. The diameter of the comparator image shall also be recorded on the film with a
grease pencil. If thinner areas are noted at any other locations on the radiograph, a Pressure
Equipment Inspector, either Client or SIEVERT Technician will determine whether another exposure
is required, using a comparator at the new RP.
Technician shall review each profile radiograph. This is done primarily to detect any condition in the
pipe that might affect the safe and reliable operation of the piping system. Secondly, the review shall
periodically include an audit of the quality of the radiograph and the accuracy of the thickness
measurement. If repetitive problems are noted with either the quality or accuracy, they should either
be corrected or be brought to the attention of the Regional Non-destructive Examination Specialist,
who is certified to ASNT Level-III or equivalent.
7.2 MEASURING THE THICKNESS OF THE RP USING COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY CARESTREAM
SOFTWARE
HPX-1 Plus is operated using powerful INDUSTREX software that includes a host of features for
measurement, custom designed EDGE Image Filters, full DICONDE compliance, and many other tools
designed specifically for NDT.
Wall Thickness Measurement Tool calculates and displays:
- Single wall thickness
- Double wall thickness
- Minimum and maximum thicknesses in a defined Area.
By using calibration measurement tool trained technician must measure the know comparator ball
diameter or film length , same shall be applied to entire film.
The CRT technician upon above calibration, he needs to measure wall thickness / dimensions at ROI.
Software features & selections tools as describe in below images.
SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC SEIL-TECH-SOP-PRT
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC SEIL-TECH-SOP-PRT
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC SEIL-TECH-SOP-PRT
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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SIEVERT EMIRATES INSPECTION LLC SEIL-TECH-SOP-PRT
PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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8.0 Report:
The corrected wall thickness shall be reported as shown in the section 9 (Report Format).
9.0 Figure-1
Right angle
Comparator
Center of beam
Measurement location (RP)
Figure-2
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PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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REPORT FORMAT
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PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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Sample Images
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PO BOX: 54069, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE Issue 01
NDT Procedure for Profile Radiography Testing Revision 02
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