Field Inspections
Digital Radiography (DR)

Digital Radiography (DR) encompasses multiple kinds of advanced radiographic inspections that utilize digital imaging rather than traditional film.

DR inspection techniques deliver timelier, safer, and more detailed inspection data than traditional radiography. Benefits include improved discontinuity evaluation, enhanced image storage and archiving, smaller exclusion zones, increased productivity, and reduced safety hazards.

MISTRAS performs DR inspections in the field and in its labs around the world, inspecting piping, pipelines, casting & weld quality, aerospace components, and more.

MISTRAS’ digital radiography techniques for field inspections include:

• Computed Radiography (CR)
• Fluoroscopy/Real-Time Radiography (RTR)

Computed Radiography (CR) Inspection Services

Computed Radiography produces digital X-ray images without using film. The same X-ray producing devices are used as with typical X-ray testing (RT), but the image is captured on a flexible, reusable imaging plate coated with a phosphor material. The imaging plate is then scanned by a laser scanner producing a digital image that can be edited, uploaded and shared via a computer.

CR inspection systems are often used in the field for weld inspections and on-stream wall thickness profile inspections of insulated or uninsulated piping systems. It’s also an effective technique to inspect castings and aerospace composite materials in the lab.

In most cases, CR inspection technology can be easily retrofitted into film-based systems, eliminating the need for processing lab film, chemicals, equipment, and storage – along with the costs associated with those ancillary tasks.

MISTRAS Automated Radiographic Testing (ART) Pipeline Crawlers

Searching for internal/external corrosion and corrosion under insulation (CUI) lurking within insulated and uninsulated pipelines can be a difficult task. MISTRAS’ ART Crawler Services use advanced, proprietary inspection technology to inspect in-service lines with no need to remove insulation or product from the lines.

The ART Crawler inspection service produces digital images during pipeline inspections and offers the ability for operators to review inspection video and DICONDE-compliant radiographic results simultaneously for faster data collection, processing, and analysis.

Because of the high speed at which the ART Crawler collects and processes data (often exceeding 1000 meters per day in an upstream environment), the system can screen 100% of a pipe in the time it typically takes to inspect 5-10% using manual methods. This makes it particularly impactful as a large-scale screening tool to help identify which pipe sections require further investigation.

Explore the game-changing ART Crawler inspection technology here.

Fluoroscopy/Real-Time Radiography (RTR) Inspection Services

Fluoroscopy, or Real-Time Radiography (RTR), emits radiation into one side of a material and uses sensors on the other side to convert the rays into light, producing a digital image that reveals corrosion, and internal/external defects in real time. RTR is a safer and quicker alternative to traditional radiography, requiring no need for a dark room to produce images.

Real-Time Radiography (RTR) is utilized for real-time inspections of insulated piping systems looking for areas of pipe degradation. MISTRAS uses RTR as part of our corrosion under insulation (CUI) inspection programs, as it can perform inspections with no need to remove the lining.

MISTRAS has also designed and developed an RTR pipeline crawler. The system is at the forefront of pipeline inspection technology, capable of performing RTR inspection of pipeline girth welds at far quicker rates than traditional RT.