Papers, Presentations & Articles

A selection of articles, papers and presentations by FRP subject matter expert Geoff Clarkson, UTComp founder and Chief Technical Officer.

UTComp founder and Chief Technical Officer Geoff Clarkson is an FRP Subject Matter Expert who frequently speaks at conferences on the advantages of FRP composite materials and UltraAnalytix®, our non-destructive and non-intrusive FRP evaluation system.

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Interested in having Geoff speak at your next event? Email inquiries@utcomp.com.

Below is a selection of Geoff’s articles, papers and presentations delivered in leading publications and at conferences around the world:

Inspectioneering Journal Articles:

Practical External Inspection of FRP Vessels (January/February 2021)
FRP Corrosion Barrier Inspection: Non-destructive & Non-intrusive Technique (Mar/Apr 2020)
Bridging Acoustic Emission Testing and Ultrasonics for FRP (July/August 2019)
Fitness for Service of FRP: Moving Towards Best Practices (May/June 2018)
Non-intrusive FRP Inspection for Avoiding Premature Asset Retirement (Nov/Dec 2017).
Novel Inspection System Aligns FRP and Metallic Asset Management Approaches (May/June 2017).

Conferences

2022

Fitness For Service of FRP & Composite Assets, Sept. 13, 2022 at The Chlorine Institute’s industry consortium meeting in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

“Objective Fitness for Service Evaluation of Polymeric Equipment,” August 9 in the Downstream Engineering & Asset Integrity Management sector track of the American Petroleum Institute 2022 Inspection and Mechanical Integrity Summit, Aug. 9-11, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

“Toward an Objective Evaluation of FRP Corrosion Barrier Condition,” Coatings and Corrosion Control for Storage Tanks symposium at AMPP Annual Conference + Expo March 6-10, San Antonio, Texas, USA.

2020

Due to the current pandemic cancellation of the NACE Corrosion 2020 in Houston this year, Geoff was unable to offer his presentation on UltraAnalytix® for Corrosion Barriers. It is based on the study which was also published in the Inspectioneering Journal (Volume 26, Issue 2 | March/April 2020).

2019

Non-Destructive Production Line Structural Evaluation, CAMX, Sept. 25, 2019. This technical paper discusses the application of QCAnalytix™, the world’s first fully automated in-line inspection solution for composite fabrication and manufacturing, for composite railway tie production. See the slide deck.

2018

Predicting FRP Remaining Service Life: What if you could know?, NACE International CORROSION 2018 Conference & Expo, April 15, 2018.

Non-Intrusive & Non-Destructive Inspection of FRP – Case Studies, NACE International CORROSION 2018 Conference & Expo, April 16, 2018.

2017

Using Ultrasonic Technique to Determine Fitness for Service of FRP Equipment for Chemical Handling Applications, Corrosion Conference & Expo, March 26-30, 2017

Authors: Pradip Khaladkar, PECT and Geoff Clarkson, UTComp

Summary: Fiberglass reinforced plastic materials are well suited to a wide variety of chemical handling equipment where resistance to corrosion is required. A significant impediment to adoption of these materials for many suitable applications lies with the inability to do a fitness for service determination after the equipment and piping have been in service. This is largely due to the lack of effective non-destructive
and non-intrusive techniques for plastic materials. This paper presents a case study of a fiberglass
reinforced plastic scrubber which was evaluated with a novel ultrasonic technique followed by a
destructive evaluation for retained mechanical properties and corrosion barrier condition. When
compared, the results showed good correlation. Although the FRP unit was already discarded this
study indicated that significant life had still remained.

2016

Using Ultrasonic Technique to Determine Fitness for Service of FRP Equipment for Chemical Handling Applications, CorCon 2016 Corrosion Conference & Expo, Sept. 18-21, 2016

Authors: Pradip Khaladkar, PECT and Geoff Clarkson, UTComp

Summary: Fiberglass reinforced plastic materials are well suited to a wide variety of chemical handling equipment where resistance to corrosion is required. A significant impediment to adoption of these materials for many suitable applications lies with the inability to do a fitness for service determination after the equipment and piping have been in service. This is largely due to the lack of effective non-destructive and non-intrusive techniques for plastic materials. This paper presents a case study of a fiberglass reinforced plastic scrubber which was evaluated with a novel ultrasonic technique followed by a destructive evaluation for retained mechanical properties and corrosion barrier condition. When compared, the results showed good correlation. Although the FRP unit was already discarded this study indicated that significant life had still remained.

Model to Optimize the Design of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic in Chlorine Dioxide Service, PacWest Conference, June 8-11, 2016

Summary: Fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) is used for tanks and pipe to contain a wide range of corrosive vapors and liquids – in many cases with superior performance and lower cost compared to stainless steels. When designing metallic tanks and piping, the dominant and simplest damage mechanism is thickness loss due to corrosion and design standards are well developed. Assessment of steel structures is based primarily on the existing fitness for service (FFS) of the steel. FRP experiences a number of simultaneous damage mechanisms that affect its structural capacity. Design conventions and conventional practice for FRP defines the layers nearest the process-side of the FRP as the only component that is important for its fitness for service. Based on extensive inspection history in similar services, this paper presents a model for design of FRP in chlorine dioxide service to optimize the life and maintenance of FRP assets.

Non-intrusive, non-destructive FRP Inspection, NACE Corrosion International, March 8-10, 2016.

Summary: Fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) is used for tanks and pipe to contain a wide range of corrosive vapors and liquids – in many cases with superior performance and lower cost compared to stainless steels. When designing metallic tanks and piping, the dominant and simplest damage mechanism is thickness loss due to corrosion and design standards are well developed. Assessment of steel structures is based primarily on the existing fitness for service (FFS) of the steel. FRP experiences a number of simultaneous damage mechanisms that affect its structural capacity. Design conventions and conventional practice for FRP defines the layers nearest the process-side of the FRP as the only component that is important for its fitness for service. Based on extensive inspection history in similar services, this paper presents a model for design of FRP in chlorine dioxide service to optimize the life and maintenance of FRP assets.