Test field for NDT below the waterlineValidation of NDT inspection on sheet piling and tubular steel piles (UT & PECT)
An independent location to validate UT and PECT measurements on sheet piling and tubular steel piles — under controlled conditions, down to 21 metres deep.
Background
Rijkswaterstaat and other managers of large steel, water-bound structures are on the threshold of a shift in the way they inspect their asset portfolio. For the fast and safe assessment of large numbers of sheet piling and combi-walls, Pulsed Eddy Current Testing (PECT) is increasingly coming into view alongside the familiar ultrasonic measurement (UT) — a technique that is also suitable for deployment from an ROV or drone.
As a technique, PECT has been around for a good number of years, but its application to sheet piling and tubular steel piles is still fairly new. As a result, the quality of the end product remains difficult to verify objectively. A responsible transition — or deliberate side-step — from UT to PECT calls for an independent way to validate measurement results. For that purpose, a test field for NDT techniques below the waterline has been set up at the Centrum voor Beroepsduiken in Enkhuizen.
The test field at the Centrum voor Beroepsduiken in Enkhuizen
The Centrum voor Beroepsduiken in Enkhuizen has a test field for NDT techniques below the waterline. Market parties that wish to qualify for carrying out PECT measurements, for example — and equally for the existing UT — perform their measurements here on test pieces qualified for that purpose.
Qualified test pieces
Measurements on test pieces qualified for the purpose, precisely surveyed and preserved as a fixed reference.
UT and PECT alike
Qualification for Pulsed Eddy Current Testing (PECT) as well as for the existing ultrasonic measurement (UT).
Down to 21 metres deep
Trialling techniques and mechanisations such as ROVs down to a maximum of 21 metres, keeping the deployment of divers to a minimum.
Benefits
Every season
Validations can be carried out in any season, under controlled, safe conditions that are equal for every party.
No burden on the managed portfolio
Measurements take place separately from the operational assets, so the availability of your own managed portfolio is not affected.
Fixed reference
Precisely surveyed test pieces are preserved and do not degrade further, so that they continue to serve as a fixed reference.
Objective comparison
An independent location makes an objective and reproducible comparison possible — both between techniques and between market parties.
Get started in the test field
Would you like to validate or qualify in the test field, or trial a technique? Contact the Centrum voor Beroepsduiken to discuss the possibilities and schedule the work.