COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY TECHNIQUE FOR WELD INSPECTION: THE PROCESS OF QUALIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF INSPECTION PROCEDURES IN BRAZIL Carla Alves MARINHO 1 , José Maurício Barbosa RABELLO, Marcos AIUB de Mello, Eduardo Tadami IGUCHI, Ricardo LOPES, Davi OLIVEIRA, Aline Saddock SILVA, Luis CASTRO, Luciano FERREIRA, Silvana SANTOS, Hilton MILANI, Nudson Harley de FREITAS 1 Petrobras Research Center Leopoldo A. Miguez de Melo, CENPES – PETROBRAS, Av. Horácio Macedo, 950, Cidade Universitária, 21941-915 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil ABSTRACT Actually, until nowadays Computed Radiography (CR) testing procedures are still based on experiments, trial and error, as a consolidated methodology to choose parameters, as in conventional radiography, is not in place yet. PETROBRAS, the Brazilian Energy Company, has worked in order to implant Computed Radiography for in-site weld inspection, running a big project in a partnership with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Carestream Health, GE Inspection Technologies, Dürr NDT, and some Brazilian Inspection Companies: ArcTest – Technical Services in Maintenance and Inspection and Qualitec – Engineering with Quality. This work presents the results delivered by the CR systems found in the market, applied to welding inspections using the double wall double image technique (DWDI). Radioactive sources and X-Ray equipment were used. Key words: Computed Radiography, Weld Inspection, Qualification and Validation of Inspection Procedures INTRODUCTION In order to qualify and validate procedures to inspect welded joints using computed radiography (CR), PETROBRAS has coordinated a big project, where several uneven welded test specimens were manufactured, and then invited CR System manufacturers, which sealed partnerships with Brazilian inspection companies to begin the sample testing. The results delivered by each system used define which system would be able to provide field services in PETROBRAS’ worksites. The project was divided into three phases: 1- Preparation of inspection procedures according to PETROBRAS’ internal standards; 2- Procedure qualification and preparation of the NDT Procedure Qualification Records (RQPEND – Registro da Qualificação de Procedimento de END); 3- Reproduction of lab conditions in field testing, using the documents previously prepared. The following standards was used as standard criteria: ASME B31.3 – Process Piping , ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section V and PETROBRAS N-2821 (Non-Destructive Testing – Computed Radiography of Welded Joints), BS EN 14784 part 1 (Non-Destructive Testing – Industrial Computed Radiography with Storage Phosphor Imaging Plates – Part 1: Classifications of Systems), ASTM E- 2445 (Standard Practice for Qualification and Long-Term Stability of Computed Radiology Systems) and ASTM E-2446 (Standard Practice for Classification of Computed Radiology Systems). The