Erosion-corrosion has been rated in the top five most prevalent forms of corrosion damage in the oil and gas industry and defined as accelerated corrosion following the removal of surface films. Erosion in oil and gas production systems is mainly due to the presence of sand along with liquid and gas. It is associated with production velocities and is the most severe when production velocities are high. Since erosion is caused by mechanical forces occurring on the metal surface, erosion can be difficult to control. To address this industry problem ESP Safety has developed Echo-EC Erosion-Corrosion Detector.
The Echo-EC monitors the condition of pipes and provide information about its erosion corrosion rate in various applications. The ECHO-EC uses a group of acoustic sensors to detect wall thickness by pulse-echo method. The quantity of sensors in a system varies from 4 to 32 pcs. The output signals from Echo-EC acoustic sensors are transmitted directly to a control system for online data monitoring via SIIS Level 2 or SISS Level 3 communication protocols. Being the next generation of smart instruments Echo uses advanced digital signal processing algorithms to provide reliable, high-resolution data to operator. This allows users to plan preventative measures, optimize use of corrosion inhibitors, calculate the remaining lifetime of pipeline, monitor weld/HAZ on pipe, verify and calibrate inspection pigs and provide information about critical areas between inspection surveys.