FS-09:   Infrastructure Piping A Critical Concern To Anyone Considering A High Rise Condominium Or Co-Op Residence Purchase The purchase of a high-rise condominium or co-op residence is a major and long-term expenditure in virtually every major American city often reaching above $250,000 and into the millions.  In addition, renovations can extend that cost by 50% or more.  Various considerations toward any such high-rise purchase include neighborhood, location, size, view, amenities, taxes, monthly maintenance fees, and investment value, etc. Virtually ignored, however, is the physical condition and infrastructure expected to provide virtually unlimited and trouble free service from the time of purchase to possibly 50 years into the future.  As both our residential and commercial building properties age, certain unavoidable and inevitable corrosion related impacts to this infrastructure are now being realized by their property owners; failures indicating that many taken for granted and critically required services have reached the end of their useful service life. For most purchases, the lobby decor is a far greater concern than the piping infrastructure that allows the building to function.  Piping systems are almost entirely hidden from view…

FS-07:    Nondestructive Testing Evaluating Building And Plant Process Piping Systems For Corrosion, Pitting, And Remaining Service Life A majority of commercial real estate properties are now approaching 50-60 years of service; many have already exceed that age.  While most properties have upgraded or replaced their HVAC, communications, elevator, pneumatic, and electrical services to meet modern demands, few have given any consideration to the condition of the various types of pipe so critical to their daily operation.  Such concerns are often first raised only after a leak or some other water related problem occurs. Chemical water treatment, relied upon exclusively to slow the rate of corrosion and keep the piping clean, often fails to provide the necessary protection to ensure extended pipe life.  The various forms of corrosion monitoring available, and especially corrosion coupons, rarely indicate true pipe conditions, and cannot offer any estimate on remaining service life. A corrosion problem at a fire sprinkler system, more than just a leak problem or the need to replace pipe, can actually threaten the lives of many due to that same rust product clogging the pipe…

FS-06:   Nondestructive Testing The Benefits Of Ultrasonic Testing In Determining Pipe Corrosion Rate, Pitting, And Remaining Service Life Ultrasonic testing, or UT as it is commonly called, is the procedure of introducing a high frequency sound wave into one exterior side of a material, and reflecting the sound wave from its interior surface to produce a precise measurement of wall thickness.  The round trip duration of travel, divided by the known sound velocity through that particular material, provides a wall thickness measurement equally accurate to a micrometer or caliper reading. Ultrasound is a well proven and respected diagnostic tool routinely employed for weld and flaw detection in critical applications such as aviation, aerospace, military, and nuclear power. Yet, while improvements in instrumentation have moved this technology into other areas such as manufacturing and quality control, its benefits to plant engineers and property owners as a diagnostic and predictive tool are still widely underutilized. Many Advantages Of Ultrasound As a nondestructive method, UT offers obvious advantages over cutting out pipe for metallurgical inspection.  It is non intrusive, accurate, reliable, safe to both building…

FS-05:   Testing Methods The Pros And Cons Of Destructive Verses Nondestructive Testing Except in critical nuclear, computer, military, or financial facilities, etc., regularly scheduled pipe testing is rarely performed.  By far, most investigations into the status of a piping system are prompted by the sudden appearance of some corrosion related operating problem.  This may be in the form of a major piping failure, a minor leak, a restricted flow condition, or the accumulation of rust deposits in the tower pan, heat exchangers, or strainers.  Less frequently, the testing of critical piping services may be performed prior to a property acquisition. Identifying a problem, determining its extent within the piping system, and assessing the level of threat to building operations then falls upon choosing the correct method of investigation.  Resolving the problem typically requires far greater effort and expense; with the costs generally dependent upon its severity at the time it is discovered. Identifying The Appropriate Test Methods Finding those answers typically begins as a choice between using nondestructive instrument based ultrasonic testing (UT) or destructive metallurgical analysis – with each offering information…

FS-04:   Shorter Pipe Service Life How New Steel Pipe Manufactured Today Will Never Provide The Service of Pipe Manufactured Decades Ago A common and unavoidable observation for anyone involved in the piping industry over the past few decades has been to the unfortunate but steady decline in the quality of American made steel pipe.  In the 1980’s, reference was made to the higher quality of 1960’s products.  Older piping steam fitters would then challenge that statement by referencing pre WW II era pipe as being far superior.  Only ten years ago, 1990’s produced pipe was looked at as superior. Today, anything produced 10 or more years ago is viewed as offering far greater quality and higher corrosion resistance.  And the scale continues its decline. Subjective vs. Hard Documentation Although such quality assessments are clearly subjective and often based upon anecdotal memory and hearsay, CorrView International, LLC has accumulated a large volume of hard data to accurately substantiate the decline of American piping products.  With over 20 years in the field of ultrasonic pipe testing at building properties throughout the United States, we…

FS-03:   How Long Should It Last? Estimated Pipe Service Life At Varying Corrosion Rates Corrosion activity will vary greatly between different piping systems.  Dry fire pipe corrodes far more than the steel pipe at a wet fire system.  Steam condensate faster than the steam supply, and condenser water much faster than a closed piping system. In addition, the schedule of pipe installed is a major factor in pipe service.  Schedule 10 pipe has approximately half the wall thickness of schedule 40 pipe, and under similar corrosion rate conditions, will last approximately half the service life.  The use of thin wall schedule 10 and even schedule 7 pipe in fire protection systems is a major factor in explaining their early failure. A Combination Of Factors Simply stated, the service life of any piping system is a function of its corrosion rate or rate of wall loss, verses its pipe wall thickness.  Low corrosion activity acting against heavier pipe may provide 100 or more years of reliable service whereas high corrosion activity acting against thinner pipe may provide only a few years.  Few piping…

FS-02:   Ultrasonic Testing The Best First Step In Any Building Piping Evaluation Survey Ultrasonic testing, or UT as it is commonly called, is the procedure of introducing a high frequency sound wave into one exterior side of a material, and reflecting the sound wave from its interior surface to produce a precise measurement of wall thickness.  The round trip duration of travel, multiplied by the known sound velocity through that particular material divided by two, provides a wall thickness measurement equally accurate to a micrometer or caliper reading. Ultrasound is a well proven and respected diagnostic tool routinely employed for weld and flaw detection in critical applications such as aviation, aerospace, military, and nuclear power. Yet, while improvements in instrumentation have moved this technology into other areas such as manufacturing and quality control, its benefits to plant engineers and property owners as a diagnostic and predictive tool are still widely underutilized. Many Advantages Of Ultrasound As a nondestructive method, UT offers obvious advantages over cutting out pipe for metallurgical inspection.  It is non-intrusive, accurate, reliable, safe to both building and inspection…

FS-01:   Predictive Maintenance The Growing Importance Of Nondestructive Testing For Successful Building Or Plant Operations Success in today’s highly competitive building management business depends upon high tenant occupancy, controlled expenses, and most importantly – uninterrupted and trouble free operation.  That means no unexpected shutdowns, no major equipment and service failures, and no high cost emergency repairs. Contrasting most building management and engineering practices prior to 1990, today’s successful commercial property can no longer afford to follow the “run to failure” mode of operation for its mechanical equipment.  Computer centers, hospitals, financial interests, and internet related businesses all demand virtually uninterrupted power, cooling and other HVAC services.  Yet, industry wide reductions of maintenance manpower have reduced or greatly limited the ability to perform “preventative maintenance” anywhere other than at the most well recognized problem areas. With the conflicting demand to provide more reliable building services at lower cost and with limited personnel, many property managers and plant engineers have turned to “predictive maintenance” programs as the answer. Preventative vs. Predictive Unlike preventative maintenance, which sets a fixed and often arbitrary interval for performing…