MoorInspect - Development of an advanced medium range ultrasonic technique for mooring chains inspection in water

In October 2011 Plant Integrity Ltd, a subsidiary of TWI, launched the MoorInspect Project. This is a collaborative project funded by the European Union under the FP7 framework. It will develop a guided wave ultrasonic inspection system for identifying cracks and fatigue in Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel mooring chains. Recent mooring chain failures have generated significant interest in the project, which will have a prototype system available in 2013.

The project will give rise to significant advances in guided wave non-destructive testing procedures using 100KHz to 0.5Mhz ultrasound, signal processing in the presence of multiple guided wave modes, transducer design for use on rough, tightly curved surfaces, and robot capability for climbing chains to deploy the inspection capsule both above and below water.

For further information please contact Graham Edwards (moorinspect@plantintegrity.co.uk) or see www.moorinspect.eu.