TORUS
Weld Inspection System

The TORUS system has been designed to carry out automated weld inspection to the highest standards of the Nuclear Industry and to cope with the rigorous conditions to be found in the fabrication yards of the Offshore Industry.

It is a fully automatic ultrasonic inspection system capable of carrying out full volumetric inspection of butt welds in large pipes and cylindrical vessels.

The system incorporates the worlds leading Digitised Flaw Detector and Data Storage and Analysis unit - Tomoscan.

Benefits

This fully automatic equipment inspects welds for transverse and longitudinal defects using tandem, pulse echo and T.O.F.D. ultrasonic inspection techniques.

TORUS gives the operator:

• Rugged construction for site operation and easy access for maintenance.
• Light weight construction - one man operation.
• Fast set up and calibration.
• Electrical connections designed for quick probe pan changeover.
• Fast inspection - one probe pan carries sixteen probes.
• Digitised flaw detector, data capture and motor controls contained in one compact unit.

Construction and Use

This computer controlled system has been specifically designed for the ultrasonic testing of butt welds in large pipework systems and cylindrical vessels.

The transducer arrays are carried over the surface in a programmable raster scan pattern to cover the weld and H.A.Z. Each transducer is monitored separately for coupling status throughout the inspection.

The scanner itself is designed to enable the transducers to scan all but 80mm of its mounting length in the axial direction.

A full range of 45, 60 and 70deg transducers are used in pitch and catch and pulse echo firing both axially and circumferentially, each transducer being monitored individually for coupling status.

T.O.F.D. transducers are also deployed across the weld for defect detection and defect sizing.

The Tomoscan computer system is capable of full digital 'A' scan capture using 800 M.Byte optical storage discs. This information, together with all relevant data, can be stored and reproduced off-line in 'A', 'B' 'C' scan and T.O.F.D. format.

The Phoenix TORUS system incorporating the manipulator, transducers and Tomoscan computer system has been designed and developed by practising N.D.E. mechanical and electronic engineers with the help and advice of practising ultrasonic technicians. The system has successfully completed the inspection of 400 welds for a major oil company, at major fabrication yards in the U.K and Norway.

User Support

Phoenix Inspection Systems is responsible for the design, manufacture and supply of the mechanical equipment and transducers. Training can be carried out by Phoenix personnel or by R/D Tech based in Quebec, Canada, the manufacturers of the Tomoscan system. Comprehensive customer support is available as a matter of course. In addition, a specialised consultancy service, based on extensive practical experience of N.D.E systems, can be called upon to advise on specific inspection problems.