Plug for an opening providing an inspection X-ray source with access to pipework or to an apparatus

Claim 1

In combination, a pipework (1) made of high strength steel alloy which is susceptible to cracking after heat treatment such as welding and which includes a wall, an opening (5) extending through said wall proximate a weld joint (4) of the pipework for providing an X-ray source with access to said pipework for the periodic inspection of said weld joint, said opening being threaded over at least a portion of its length from the outside of the pipework, and a plug for said opening, said plug comprising an open ended, first cylindrical component (6) having a central bore extending therethrough and having an outer threaded surface screwed into side wall opening and being welded (8) to an outer surface (2) of the wall, and projecting outwardly therefrom, said first cylindrical component being made of the same steel as the pipework, and a second cylindrical component (9) having a closed outer end (11) for closing the bore through the first component, an inner end of said second cylindrical component being butt welded (10) to an outer end of the first cylindrical component and disposed in axial alignment therewith, means allowing periodic weld joint inspections that are implemented by destroying the butt weld to enable the removal of the second cylindrical component, where thereafter the second cylindrical component is capable of being butt welded back onto the first cylindrical component, said allowing means comprising making said second cylindrical component of a steel having a lower susceptibility to cracking than that of the first component.