Positive material identification services for alloy piping and vessels

These are planning ranges, not quotes. Surface condition, alloy family, count and the report you need change the price. For the weld side of the same job see pipe weld testing.

A mix up between 304 and 316, or carbon steel in a chrome moly line, usually looks fine until the line corrodes or creeps. PMI is the cheap check that catches it at receiving, at fabrication or in an existing plant. Refineries and chemical plants run PMI programs on high temperature, sour and corrosive service because the consequence of a wrong alloy is a leak, a shutdown and a repair that costs many times the test. The recommended practice for this is API RP 578, which covers material verification programs for new and existing alloy piping, and many purchase orders also cite ASTM E1476 for metals identification. Your owner specification and your insurer decide how many components to test, often 100 percent for critical alloy lines.

Pipe fabricators buy PMI on incoming pipe, fittings and filler to release alloy spools with a record. EPC contractors and plant owners buy it as a receiving inspection and as a condition for turnover. Refinery and chemical plant reliability engineers buy PMI during API 570 and API 510 programs when records are missing or a system moves to harsher service. Valve and equipment distributors buy it to certify stock against heat numbers. Process piping campaigns are covered on our piping inspection services page, and vessels on pressure vessel inspection services. Each of them sends the same request for quote to qualified crews, which is the step we automate.

Handheld XRF is the default. It is fast, nondestructive and reads most alloy elements in a few seconds, so a technician can test hundreds of components in a day. It cannot measure carbon, so it cannot tell 304 from 304L or 316 from 316L. When the specification calls for a low carbon grade, or you need to separate chrome moly grades, the crew adds OES, which burns a tiny spot on the surface and reads carbon directly. Ask each bidder which method they use for which grades and whether the quote includes both, so prices compare like for like. Light elements and coatings also affect XRF, so the surface must be bare, clean metal.

1. You send the line list or component list with the specified material grade for each item, the count and the code or owner specification.
2. The company proposes the method, the sample plan and who marks the tested items.
3. The technician checks the analyzer against a certified reference standard at the start of each shift, grinds or cleans test points and reads each component.
4. Results are compared with the specified grade ranges, failures are retested and flagged, and tested items are marked.
5. You receive a report with the component identifier, location, measured composition, specified grade and pass or fail.

• Crew day with a handheld XRF analyzer. $900 to $1,800.
• Per component on a large count. $5 to $25 for pipe, fittings and flanges.
• Welds and filler metal. $15 to $60 per weld.
• OES carbon check. $50 to $150 per point, since it needs a spark spot and surface prep.
• Report and data package. Often 10 to 20 percent on top of field time, more with a per component spreadsheet.
• Mobilization and travel. $500 to $3,000 per trip for remote sites.
• Scaffolding, insulation removal and cleaning. Billed on top.

Minimums apply, so a 20 component job often costs close to a half day. The NDT inspection cost guide shows how crews price the other methods, and the PMI testing cost article works through a full alloy spool budget.

Ask what analyzer the company uses, when it was last calibrated and how often it is checked against a standard during a shift. Ask who tests: ASNT Level II is common, and many owners require a written PMI procedure and a technician with alloy experience, not only a Level II certificate. Request a sample report showing measured composition per component, not only a pass stamp. For refinery work confirm the company knows API RP 578 and how it handles failures and retest.