FMD: Flooded Member Detection

Flooded Member Detection (FMD), which is sometimes referred to also as Flooded Member Inspection (FMI) is a test that is carried out to determine if water is present in subsea structural members – which would in turn be an indicator of a through wall defect in the member.

Weld failures or cracks do occasionally occur in subsea members. This is especially the case after extreme weather events or after any kind of impact. This ingress of water or “flood” will often remain completely undetected without inspection.

Historically, gamma radiation FMI has been deployed when an entire subsea platform requires inspection. But, thanks to the simplicity of use and affordability for Cygnus’ FMD, Operators and their inspection contractors are now depending also on UT FMD.  For interim and one-off inspections in particular, a UT (Ultrasonic Testing) FMD unit is an excellent alternative to gamma.

Because ultrasonic FMD is extremely economical, safe and requires little specialist expertise, the expense of outsourcing FMD work to a team of subcontractors can be removed.  The Cygnus UT FMD system can be deployed quickly and effectively by an on-platform dive team or ROV pilot and their supporting team of technicians.

As an added benefit, the Cygnus FMD system is designed so that the same piece of equipment can be used by both divers and ROVs – another design innovation that delivers yet further savings.