Non-Destructive Testing Equipment for Tensile Properties, Yield Stress, Residual Stress, Fracture Toughness

Tensile Strength, Yield Stress, Residual Stress, Fracture Toughness | NDT Mechanical Properties Analysis 

LPR Global’s AIS series of non-destructive testing equipment is used to inspect mechanical properties of materials and structures operating under high-pressure, high-stress, high-temperature and other harsh environments. It is essential for power plant and pipeline operators and service providers to closely monitor structural deformation and degradation of materials caused by mechanical, chemical and thermal effects in order to adhere to regulatory requirements and to prevent industrial accidents.   

LPR Global offers NDT equipment which uses Instrumented Indentation Technology (depth indentation). This NDT equipment is ideal for API pipe inspections and inspections related to PHMSA tensile and yield strength properties testing.

Instrumented Indentation Test Theory & Procedure

Non-Destructive IIT Method vs. Destructive Tensile Tests

AIS series equipment uses the load-depth indentation method to build a stress-strain curve, and to obtain tensile strength and yield stress data.  

When compared to destructive test results, our NDT equipment’s in-field accuracy shows less than 10% deviation.

Instrumented Indentation NDT for Aged Material Degradation Monitoring 

Instrumented indentation technology overcomes the limitations of conventional non-destructive testing techniques in measuring mechanical property degradation of long-term aged materials by analyzing the indentation load-depth curves that reflects the deformation behavior of the tested sample, which is non-destructively assessed by the indenter on a micro scale.  

Instrumented Microindentation Study on Long-term Aged Materials

Power Plant Equipment and Structure NDT Inspection

The AIS series of NDT equipment offered by LPR Global has been used to inspect power plant and nuclear power plant facilities. Due to the advanced attachment options compatible with the AIS NDT equipment, we have performed inspection and non-destructive testing of a variety of power plant equipment and structures, including turbine rotor, turbine casing, shafts, boiler tube, weldment, weld overlay, reactor, cooling water line, steam generator and heater tube.  

NDT Equipment for Nuclear and Power Plant Applications

High-Speed Railway (Wheel and Rail) Defects NDT Inspection 

Common types of damages to high-speed rail such as crack propagation, surface peeling/spalling, work hardening/ shelling, abrasion and other surface and subsurface defects can occur due to repeated wheel load and other impacts. If left unchecked, these railway damages and deteriorations can be detrimental to the safe operation of the railway and the safety of railway passengers and operators.  

AIS NDT equipment offered by LPR Global can be used to perform systematic and periodic non-destructive inspections to detect rail and wheel defects of in-service railways. In addition, AIS equipment can be used to inspect new materials and railway components, eliminating the introduction of defective parts to ensure the quality and safety of new systems and replacement parts.  

Non-Destructive Material Verification for PHMSA Mega Rule

LPR Global’s AIS NDT equipment is used for PHMSA regulatory inspection of tensile strength and yield stress for material verification of unknown pipes. 

PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) regulation by the U.S. government Department of Transportation (DOT) requires all pipelines constructed before 1970 to have confirmation of the MAOP (maximum allowable operating pressure) as defined by TVC (Traceable, Verifiable and Complete) records of material tensile strength and yield stress. To ensure regulatory compliance, pipeline owners are required to update incomplete and inaccurate pipeline information to ensure accurate risk assessment and effective risk management. To achieve regulatory compliance, PHMSA requires companies to perform yield and tensile strength inspections using non-destructive technologies (NDT).  

The requirements for testing technologies are specified in the §192.607 section of the Mega Rule.  

***PHMSA 192.607: Must achieve at least 95% confidence level*** 

• 3rd party application cases proves that IIT used by AIS equipment offered by LPR Global meets this confidence requirement 
• Ultimate Yield Strength (UYS) +/-10% with a 95% confidence level 
• Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) +/-10% with a 95% confidence level 

Recent report by the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) tested and verified the accuracy and effectiveness of the instrumented indentation technology (IIT) used by the AIS series of NDT equipment. In this research, GTI’s optimum causal models combined with the AIS technology data achieved a 95% confidence level in ultimate tensile strength and yield strength predictions by overlapping yield and ultimate tensile strength from lab tests across the entire pipe sample DOE on non-seamless pipes, including pipes with long seam welds like ERW and SAW. 

AIS series NDT equipment is recognized as an accurate, reliable, efficient, and cost-effective tool for material property confirmations of service pipelines to meet the new U.S. government Department of Transportation (DOT) PHMSA regulations. 

GTI’s Report Conclusions

AIS Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and Inspection Equipment Benefits