FRP composites could increase the lifespan of utility infrastructure. But clear standards for non‑destructive testing are needed to harness the benefits.
Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been used successfully for decades as a safe, cost-effective alternative to metals for making vessels, tanks and piping that store and transport corrosive materials in a variety of industries.
However, a long-standing barrier to more widespread use has been the lack of a proven non-destructive testing (NDT) methodology for assessing the fitness-for-service of FRP equipment.
While standards and codes for FRP design and construction consider the unique properties of these materials, standards for inspection of in-service FRP lag behind.
Current standards tend to impose requirements for inspecting metal equipment or are based on the properties of new FRP and don’t account for the impact of service conditions on the material.
As a result, available standards and codes provide little guidance for inspectors to help them understand the damage that can be expected once FRP equipment is in operation.
Fortunately, this gap in standards for in-service FRP is closing.
RPC’s validated, quantitative methodology for non-destructive FRP assessment, licensed by UTComp is making inspection of these assets easy, cost-effective and reliable.
Data-based FRP assessment
In August 2024, the Welding Research Council (WRC) published the third edition of WRC Bulletin 601 (WRC‑601), Assessment of Existing Fibre Reinforced Polymer Equipment for Structural Damage, authored by UTComp founder and Chief Technical Officer, Geoff Clarkson. WRC-601 provides the technical basis for FRP assessment techniques including attenuation-based ultrasound (UAX).
UltraAnalytix® NDT is a patented, non-destructive, non-intrusive UAX-based system developed by Mr Clarkson for reliable fitness for service assessment of in-service FRP assets.
According to the American Petroleum Institute, equipment is fit for service when it can operate as intended by its design.
A fitness-for-service assessment of FRP is different, however, because FRP composites are fundamentally unlike steel and other metal alloys.
Steels are solutions – the material’s properties are consistent throughout. FRP composites, on the other hand, are mixtures – each component acts separately and has different mechanical properties.
A fitness-for-service assessment works best when it’s derived from objective criteria. However, this is a difficult prospect when there are more than 200 different consensus standards and codes related to design and construction of FRP equipment, and none offer any guidance on what’s required for inspection or fitness‑for‑service determination.
An UltraAnalytix inspection is designed to remove this guesswork by quantitatively defining end-of-life with reliable data, which allows owners to plan with confidence and ensure operational safety.
Because the fitness-for-service evaluation can be undertaken non‑destructively and non-intrusively, asset owners save money by avoiding shutdowns and unnecessary repairs or replacement of FRP equipment.
For more information, visit rpctechnologies.com
Featured image: an UltraAnalytix inspection quantitatively defines fitness-for-service with reliable data. Image: RPC
