HOW DOES PRODUCT TESTING ENSURE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY?

Here at Special Piping Materials, quality matters. Read our latest blog answering ‘how does product testing ensure safety and reliability?’

In the specialist piping industry, product failure can have severe and sometimes catastrophic consequences. From downtime to safety hazards, even the smallest fault can lead to costly repercussions. Therefore, rigorous product testing is not only important; it is essential.

Ensuring the safety and reliability of components used in critical applications is fundamental to maintaining high standards in the industry. At Special Piping Materials (SPM), we are committed to providing comprehensive testing services to guarantee the integrity of our products before they reach our clients.

Why Testing is Critical

Effective product testing serves as the cornerstone of safety, performance, and durability. In industries such as oil and gas, nuclear, and desalination, where pipes and fittings operate under extreme conditions, product failure is simply not an option. Here’s why testing is so crucial:

•  – Ensures Material Integrity – Rigorous testing identifies potential defects or weaknesses, preventing failures that could jeopardise both operations and safety.
•  – Meets Industry Standards – Our products comply with stringent regulations, including ISO, ASTM, and ASME standards, ensuring top-tier quality across all materials.
•  – Increases Equipment Lifespan – Identifying problems before they arise helps to prolong the life of equipment, avoiding costly repairs and replacements in the future.
•  – Reduces Risk of Downtime – Materials that are properly tested will perform reliably under extreme conditions, ensuring minimal downtime in operations and helping businesses to avoid significant financial losses.

Destructive Testing Procedures
While non-destructive testing (NDT) methods are often used, destructive testing also plays a significant role in assessing a material’s true performance under stress. Special Piping Materials can arrange for destructive testing to be carried out at certified and licensed test houses worldwide. These tests offer insights into how a material behaves when pushed beyond its limits, simulating real-world conditions in critical industries.

Here are some of the most common types of destructive testing:

•  – Tensile Strength Test – This test subjects a material to sustained tension until it fails, allowing specialists to measure tensile and breaking strength. It helps to predict how materials will perform under normal and extreme circumstances. The results are invaluable for selecting the right materials for specific applications, ensuring compliance with industry specifications, and verifying whether a product can perform in a new environment.
•  – Charpy Impact Test – Used to assess the toughness of a material, this test measures the amount of energy absorbed during a fracture. A notched specimen is struck with a controlled weight pendulum, and the energy absorbed during the fracture is quantified. Often repeated at different temperatures, this test helps to determine whether a material is more brittle or ductile under specific temperature conditions.
•  – Bending Test – Bending tests are conducted to determine a material’s ductility. They assess tensile, compression, and fatigue characteristics, which are crucial for materials subjected to bending forces, such as in heavy industry scenarios where pipes and fittings may experience complex stress.
•  – Corrosion Testing – Corrosion is a significant threat in industries exposed to moisture, seawater, or toxic chemicals. Corrosion testing simulates these harsh environments to predict how materials will react over time. Electrochemical testing or direct exposure tests help to assess a material’s ability to resist corrosion in specific conditions, ensuring reliability in industries like desalination and nuclear power.

Alongside these core tests, a range of additional destructive tests can be carried out, including:

•  – Product analysis
•  – Micrographic examination
•  – Ferrite and phase count
•  – Hot yield tests
•  – Flaring and ring flaring tests
•  – Hardness tests
•  – Spectral analysis

If you would like to know more about how these tests can be arranged, our expert team at Special Piping Materials is available to assist in managing the testing procedures in line with internationally recognised standards.

Non-Destructive Testing at Special Piping Materials

Non-destructive testing (NDT) is a core part of our testing services at Special Piping Materials. Our qualified and experienced global teams can carry out a range of NDT techniques in-house, ensuring a seamless service for our clients. We are proud to have specialist ASNT and PCM-qualified personnel based in offices worldwide, who are equipped to conduct advanced testing such as Dye-Penetrant Inspections and Impact Testing.

We take a proactive approach to testing, and the majority of the stock we maintain in our warehouses is tested according to respected ASTM standards, ASME standards, and international specifications like Norsok MDS, Shell MESC, and ExxonMobil. This thorough testing guarantees that our products meet the necessary safety and reliability requirements.

However, we understand that different clients have specific requirements that sometimes go beyond our internal capabilities. In these cases, we partner with a network of trusted, highly qualified testing providers to manage additional testing. We ensure that all outsourced testing is carried out in NAMAS/UKAS-approved test houses that are ISO17025 certified, guaranteeing both reliability and objectivity in the evaluation process.

Here are some of the most common non-destructive tests we offer:

•  – Dye Penetrant Inspection (DPT) – This cost-effective and reliable method detects surface flaws in materials such as metals, plastics, or ceramics. A dye is applied to the material, and the excess is removed. The material is then left to allow the dye to seep through any surface discontinuities, revealing potential issues.
•  – Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI) – This technique uses magnetic fields to identify surface and near-surface flaws in ferrous materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt. The magnetic field draws attention to any imperfections, helping to identify areas requiring further inspection or remediation.
•  – Ultrasonic Testing (UT) – Sound waves are used in ultrasonic testing to detect cracks, defects, and changes in thickness. The results often provide clear, detailed images that can reveal flaws that go beyond the surface level, such as internal discontinuities in pipe walls.
•  – Thermal Infrared Testing – This method measures temperature variations on the surface of materials using thermal imaging technology. Any small differences in temperature often point to potential cracks or discontinuities in the material’s surface.
•  – Ferrite Testing – This test helps measure the delta ferrite content in austenitic and duplex stainless steels. The ferrite content directly impacts the material’s resistance to hot cracking, solidification cracks, and its overall ductility and corrosion resistance.
•  – Visual Inspection – While not reliant on advanced machinery, visual inspection remains a crucial part of the NDT process. Our highly trained inspectors use their expertise to identify flaws like cracks, corrosion, or inconsistencies in material properties, ensuring every product meets the highest standards.

Commitment to Quality

At Special Piping Materials, we are dedicated to ensuring that all our products, whether duplex or super duplex stainless steel pipes, fittings, or flanges, undergo rigorous testing before they leave our premises. We collaborate closely with third-party inspectors to meet customer specifications and industry standards, offering total peace of mind.

Our commitment to quality is further evidenced by the full traceability we provide for all materials, ensuring that customers receive products that meet the highest possible standards of safety, performance, and reliability.

If you need assistance with testing or require more information about our testing services, our team is always on hand to provide expert guidance and support.