Ionix HotSense™ has been successfully deployed with a CALIPERAY wireless system and a field communication kit to monitor erosion rates in a remote upstream Shell facility as an alternative to manual inspection with X-ray RT profiling.
Key Benefits:
- Maximising well productivity, based on known erosion rates
- Increasing safety, reduced site activity & exposure to X-ray
- Reducing costs by automating data collection remotely
The Application:
► Ionix HotSense™ sensors were connected to a Mistras WirelessHART CALIPERAY™ ultrasonic monitoring system to make automated, accurate, precise and reliable thickness measurements.
► The system is intrinsically safe certified for use in FM Class 1 Div 1 and ATEX & IECEx Zone 0 applications.
► HotSense™ sensors were attached to the NPS 2” pipes using the non-intrusive clamp deployment system during live operation of the well.
► A Field Communication Kit was installed based on a WirelessHART gateway, power supply and cellular modem to provide direct data transfer to a remote server.
► Advanced software for wall thickness data analysis and graphical visualisation (WAMP) was installed on the server for data collection and analysis
► Measurements collected from the UT system over a 6 month period were successfully validated against RT profile images
Key Outputs:
► Thickness measurements can be automatically collected and uploaded via the cellular enabled field deployment kit.
► Frequent, consistent and high-quality wall thickness data collection enables the customer to maximise well productivity and increase safety.
► The measurement was validated as an upper operating threshold, risk mitigation strategy compared to the costly alternative – RT profiling.
► Process and Production engineers have desktop access to integrity data from the remote site allowing production optimisation and profitable decisions based on measurable data.
► Reduced inspection costs avoiding travel and eliminating hot work permits
► Continuous monitoring from remote and hazardous locations delivered reduced exposure of staff to hazardous environments
