Magnetic flux leakage (MFL) is an electromagnetic method of nondestructive testing that is used to detect corrosion, pitting and wall loss in lined and unlined metallic pipelines.

The most accurate method of metallic pipeline condition assessment is MFL in-line inspection (ILI) using advanced nondestructive electromagnetic methods to scan the full circumference and length of the pipeline for damage by corrosion and other causes.

This technology, commonly known as ‘smart pigging’, has become the industry standard condition assessment vehicle in unlined steel pipelines in the oil and gas industry.

Until now, the presence of mortar lining in water pipelines has limited the accuracy and use of ILI inspection and hindered development of practical ILI methods for large diameter, mortar-lined metallic pipelines. With MFL from Pure, pipeline owners can now clearly see through mortar linings up to an inch thick.

With MFL technology, permanent magnets are used to temporarily magnetize the steel pipe and the magnetic field changes are recorded and analyzed. The magnetic flux is uniform if there are no flaws in the wall of the pipe. If internal or external flaws are present, such as pitting, corrosion or other forms of damage, the magnetic flux is distorted beyond the wall of the pipe, and this distortion or ‘leakage’ is measured by Hall Effect sensors.

Pure’s MFL tools use high powered magnets to magnetically saturate the pipe wall, even through liner up to an inch thick. These tools have industry-leading computational capacity and speed, world-leading inspection resolution of the pipe wall and unique data analysis algorithms using advanced applied mathematics to accurately determine defect characteristics and shape.

Extra High Resolution (XHR)

Our MFL tools use Extra High Resolution (XHR) data in order to provide a visibly improved view of defects and better analytical characterization of their size. XHR is the newest generation of MFL tools where systems have a very high number of sensors. Hall Effect sensors are positioned at 1/4″ (6.25mm) intervals along the circumference of the tool, and in conjunction with higher sampling rates, guarantee maximum data resolution.

Extra High Resolution (XHR) MFL means:

• Better magnets and better sensors
• Tighter sensor spacing for maximum resolution
• Uniform sensor spacing on the entire circumference
• Higher sampling rates for the best quality data

Benefits of Pure MFL

• Provides high resolution data of entire circumference of the pipe wall allowing for comprehensive structural evaluations of the pipe
• MFL tool is capable of collecting high resolution data through interior mortar linings
• Recognized as an industry standard for metallic pipe wall assessment
• May be deployed manned or free-swimming

Available Tools

Pure offers a wide variety of MFL tools for assessing the condition of metallic pipelines. These range from large diameter manned entry tools to free-swimming small diameter tools. Contact us to find out which solution is best for your needs.

18-Apr 12: Aqua Environmental will host a metallic pipe condition assessment workshop during the week of Ozwater'12. The goal of this workshop is to provide pipeline owners and managers with an understanding Read More >