In-pipe Ultrasonic Inspections of Mud and Tailing Lines: how to manage difficult to remove Scaling, provide quality and accurate Defect Assessments of steel and HDPE
Rio Tinto Yarwun Aluminium Refinery (RTY) is expanding its pipeline integrity assessment technologies. As part of this effort, RTY has been working with Intero Integrity Services (Intero) to introduce Intero’s Pipeline Surveyor services, a free-swimming pipe inspection tool.
Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest mining companies, operating in 25 countries with a portfolio that includes iron ore, copper, aluminum, lithium, and other materials needed for everyday life. The Yarwun Aluminum Refinery located in Gladstone, Australia is operating since 2004. Australia is a country with very strict regulations and a tight social license to operate.
There is a need to provide it’s owners with suitable technologies and methods to offer inspection technologies not only to detect pipeline defects, but also to evaluate the integrity and safety of their pipelines.
RTY has been working since 2019 to introduce Intero’s Pipeline Surveyor as inspection technology for difficult-to-inspect mud, slurry, and caustic pipelines. In 2021 an inspection was carried out on an 8kms steel mud line of DN750.
This paper will provide an overview of the Pipeline Surveyor technology and information on the evaluation of inspections conducted for its application in Australia.