Advantages of three-axial high-resolution magnetic flux leakage inspection technology and its application status

Three-axial high-resolution magnetic flux leakage (MFL) inspection technology is successful in weld inspection on aging pipelines. But with the gradual decommissioning of aging pipelines, technical and management staff focus much on whether this technology is needed for newly built pipelines. In this paper, the principal risks related with the main parts of aging and newly built pipelines were mainly discussed, and the requirements for three-axial high-resolution MFL inspection were analyzed through comparison of technical advantages between three-axial high-resolution MFL internal inspection and conventional MFL internal inspection. It was recommended to enhance the research and application of three-axial high-resolution MFL inspection technology, so as to make pipeline defect inspection more accurate, provide reliable data reference for subsequent integrity assessment and ensure the intrinsic safety of pipelines. In addition, it has great significance to management decisions of pipeline operators.