Valves are widely used equipment in the industry to control the flow of oil and gas and are employed in many processes, such as exploration, production, transportation, and refining.

The need for efficient storage and transportation is a factor driving the oil and gas valves market. From the place of production to the place of consumption, oil and gas must be transported efficiently.

Environmental preservation is another aspect that drives this market. Gas and oil can be dangerous if not handled properly, as they are combustible. This is why valves are used to regulate the flow of oil and gas and avoid accidents.

It goes without saying that these valves must be properly opened or closed. If they are not, it can result in waste (of energy or pressure), disruption of the flow and potential downtime.

Internal failures or leaks in a valve are synonymous with financial losses. More seriously, they also have dramatic consequences on the safety and quality of production. Without an adapted tool, their periodic verification remains a delicate point.

Systematic dismantling as a preventive measure is definitely not appropriate. This strategy proves to be long and costly to finally detect the few leaking valves responsible for the losses. On the contrary, ultrasonic detection is the autonomous, fast and above all non-destructive testing field solution. No need to dismantle, no need to wait for production to stop.

The internal leakage of a valve results in the unwanted passage of fluid downstream. As the fluid escapes, it rubs against the valve seat and produces turbulence. Both phenomena emit a sound. The frequency emitted is wide. However, it is essential to work in the ultrasonic range, generally 40 kHz, in order to reduce the influence of background noise in the installation.

With an SDT detector, such as the SDT340, the control consists in placing a contact sensor at two points: upstream and downstream of the valve. The diagnosis is quick and immediate, based on the comparison of the 2 measurements. An elevation downstream of the valve indicates that the valve is leaking. There will be confirmation when listening: the operator will really hear the leak. The data management is simplified by the memorization of the measurements and their treatment on the UAS3 software with the edition of reports, alarms, forgotten measurement points, rounds.