TOMSK, May 19 – RIA Tomsk. A self-propelled flaw detection complex for monitoring the quality of welded joints on pipes of gas pipelines developed by engineers of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) will soon be available to PJSC Gazprom; previously, the flaw detector has already been tested on the site of the Power of Siberia, the university’s press service said on Tuesday.
According to the press service, the development of the complex itself was carried out by specialists of the TPU School of Non-Destructive Testing. The customer was Gazprom Transgaz Tomsk, which was involved in the construction of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline. Previously, the flaw detector has already passed trial operation at the site of the Power of Siberia in the Tomsk region.
"TPU engineers have developed a self-propelled flaw detection complex to control the quality of welded joints on the pipelines of gas pipelines. This import-substituting complex can operate at extremely low and high temperatures. It has successfully passed certification tests at PJSC Gazprom and the complex will soon receive a certificate of conformity", - is said in the message.
As it's noted with reference to the project manager, the head of the organizational department of the TPU School of Non-Destructive Testing Oleg Akhmedzhanov, the registration of the certificate in the "Intergazsert" voluntary certification system created by Gazprom will make it possible to use a flaw detector at the company's facilities during the construction of new gas pipelines and repairs existing ones.
"The complex was created to control welded joints and the base metal of objects of field and main gas pipelines from steel pipes. It combines two approaches at once - radioscopic and radiographic. This allows monitoring using both digital radioscopy and traditional X-ray films", - adds the press release.
The complex also includes a panoramic X-ray generator with a control panel and an in-line autonomous moving device (crawler). Compared to foreign counterparts, the Tomsk complex has better power-to-weight ratio: it works longer on a single charge of the battery. The flaw detector can work with pipes with a diameter of 720 to 1420 millimeters and a thickness of up to 32 millimeters.
As previously reported, the construction of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline, which began in 2014 and ended in December 2019, was carried out by the Tomsk subsidiary of Gazprom - Gazprom Transgaz Tomsk. The Power of Siberia stretches from the Tomsk region through Khabarovsk to Vladivostok, and from there - to China. The pipeline will ensure the supply of Russian gas to China for 30 years.