Custom corrosion specimens for Ultrasonic Testing 

Custom corrosion specimens provide a safe, repeatable platform for developing and validating ultrasonic inspection procedures before deployment in the field.

To support this project, Sonaspection designed and manufactured custom corrosion specimens for a US energy customer to support the detection of corrosion in anchor bolts beneath the top nut on base plates. 

The anchor bolt inspection challenge

Corrosion beneath anchor bolt nuts can be difficult to detect due to restricted access and complex geometry. To address this challenge, the customer required representative specimens that replicated corrosion within both the base material and threaded sections, enabling realistic evaluation of ultrasonic inspection performance.

Our solution

We manufactured two custom carbon steel specimens incorporating engineered corrosion features representative of in-service degradation.

Designed for straight beam ultrasonic testing (UT), the specimens also supported the customer’s wider development of phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) inspection procedures. Each specimen met the customer’s requirements, providing a repeatable inspection platform for procedure development and validation.

Inspection results

Inspection trials successfully detected the engineered corrosion features, demonstrating that the specimens accurately represented the intended inspection challenge.

The completed specimens are supporting ultrasonic inspection procedure development for anchor bolts across multiple energy facilities in the United States, helping inspection teams evaluate inspection performance and increase confidence before field deployment.

Representative inspection specimens provide a consistent platform for evaluating inspection performance, refining inspection procedures and improving operator confidence before inspections are carried out on critical assets. They also help reduce risk by enabling procedures to be assessed under controlled, repeatable conditions.

By manufacturing custom NDE specimens that replicate real inspection challenges, we help organizations develop, validate and optimize inspection procedures while improving operator qualification and inspection reliability.

Project summary 

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