System and method for non-destructive, in situ, positive material identification of a pipe

1. A method for non-destructive, in situ, positive material identification of a pipe, the method comprising:

using an ultrasonic scanner on a surface of the pipe to collect wall thickness data;

comparing the wall thickness data to a known API wall thickness tolerance limit;

selecting at least three test areas on the surface of the pipe, the pipe being in-situ and part of a pipeline, each test area being separated axially and circumferentially from one another;

polishing using a grinder and successively finer polishing media the surface of the pipe to a pit-free, near-mirrorlike finish within at least a portion of each test area;

selecting a mechanical properties test location within the polished portion of each test area;

using a tensile property tester having a ball indenter to collect a predetermined number of mechanical property data readings of the pipe at each mechanical properties test location, the predetermined number of mechanical property data readings representing a mechanical property data collection run;

calculating a mean of the mechanical property data collection run;

selecting a chemical properties test location within the polished area of each test area, each chemical properties test location being adjacent to a respective mechanical properties test location;

using an optical emissions spectrometer to collect a predetermined number of chemical property data readings of the pipe at each chemical properties test location, the predetermined number of chemical property data readings representing a chemical property data collection run;

calculating a mean of the chemical property data collection run;

calculating an overall mean of the mechanical property data collection runs and of the chemical property data collection runs, each overall mean being calculated using at least two of its respective data collection runs;

identifying a material of the pipe by comparing each overall mean to a known API material standard.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined number of mechanical property data readings and of chemical property data readings is a minimum of five and a maximum of ten readings.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein any reading not within a predetermined variance from the calculated mean of a respective mechanical or chemical property data collection run is discarded.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the predetermined variance is ±5% from the calculated mean.

5. A method according to claim 3 wherein the predetermined variance is ±10% from the calculated mean.

6. A method according to claim 3 wherein an additional reading replaces the discarded reading.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein the at least two of the data collection runs used to calculate the overall calculated mean for the mechanical or chemical property does not include an outlier data collection run.

8. A method according to claim 1 wherein the outlier data collection run is a data collection run having a calculated mean with the greatest variance from an overall calculated mean for the at least three data collection runs for the mechanical or chemical property.

9. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method provides, at 95% confidence level, mechanical property data sufficient to determine ultimate yield strength and ultimate tensile strength at least within +/−10% of the known API material standard.

10. A method according to claim 1 wherein method provides, at an 85% confidence level, chemical property data sufficient to calculate a carbon percentage in a range of at least +/−25% to the known API material standard.

11. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method provides, at a 90% confidence level, chemical property data sufficient to calculate a manganese percentage in a range of at least +/−20% to the known API material standard.

12. A system for non-destructive, in situ, positive material identification of a pipe which is part of a pipeline, the system comprising:

at least three test areas on a surface of a pipe when in-situ, each test area being separated axially and circumferentially from one another and having a portion polished by a grinder with successively finer polishing media to a pit-free, near-mirrorlike finish;

a tensile property tester having a ball indenter for collecting mechanical property data of the pipe from a mechanical properties test location within the polished portion of each test area, the tensile property tester providing a predetermined number of readings for a mechanical property at the mechanical properties test location, the predetermined number of readings constituting a mechanical property data collection run and being used to calculate a mean for the mechanical property data collection run; and

an optical emission spectrometer for collecting chemical property data of the pipe from a chemical properties test location within the polished area of each test area, each chemical properties test location being adjacent to a respective mechanical properties test location, the optical emission spectrometer providing a predetermined number of readings for a chemical property at the chemical properties test location, the predetermined number of readings constituting a chemical property data collection run and being used to calculate a mean for the chemical property data collection run;

wherein an overall calculated mean for at least two of the mechanical property data collection runs including mechanical data results of the pipe and an overall calculated mean for at least two of the chemical property data collection runs including chemical data results of the pipe is compared to a known API material standard.

13. A system according to claim 12 wherein the predetermined number of readings for the mechanical and chemical property data collection runs is a minimum of five and a maximum of ten readings.

14. A system according to claim 12 wherein a reading not within a predetermined variance from the calculated mean of its respective data collection run is discarded.

15. A system according to claim 14 wherein the predetermined variance is ±5%.

16. A system according to claim 14 wherein the predetermined variance is ±10%.

17. A system according to claim 14 wherein an additional reading replaces the discarded reading.

18. A system according to claim 12 wherein the at least two of the data collection runs used to calculate the overall calculated mean for the mechanical or chemical property does not include an outlier data collection run.

19. A system according to claim 18 wherein the outlier data collection run is a data collection run having a calculated mean with the greatest variance from an overall calculated mean for the at least three data collection runs for the mechanical or chemical property.

20. A system according to claim 12 wherein the system provides, at a 95% confidence level, data sufficient to determine ultimate yield strength and ultimate tensile strength at least within +/−10% of the known API material standard.

21. A system according to claim 12 wherein the system provides, at an 85% confidence level, chemical property data sufficient to calculate a carbon percentage in a range of at least +/−25% to the known API material standard.

22. A system according to claim 11 wherein the system provides, at a 90% confidence level, a manganese percentage in a range of at least +/−20% to the known API material standard.

23. A method according to claim 1 further comprising:

buffing to remove any indentations made on the pipe by the ball indenter within the polished portion of each test area; and

etching to remove any burns on the pipe caused by the optical emissions spectrometer within the polished portion of each test area.

24. A method according to claim 1 further comprising: using a magnetic particle tester on the pipe within the polished portion of each test area to determine a presence of a surface breaking anomaly on the pipe.

25. A method according to claim 24 further comprising using an ultrasonic flaw detector within the polished portion of each test area to identify a long-seam weld type selected from the group consisting of an electric resistance weld and an electric resistance lap weld.

26. A method according to claim 24 further comprising performing phased-array ultrasonic testing to determine a depth of the surface breaking anomaly.