In the power, petrochemical and oil/gas industry a big variety of heat exchangers is being used. Heat exchangers are being used to heat up, cool down, evaporate or condensate process flows. Refinery and Chemical plants can employ hundreds of heat exchangers or condensers in a single process unit, each having its unique process, service and damage mechanism.
Depending on the application, heat exchangers come in all kinds of shapes, dimensions and materials. Construction models most widely used are the so called tube/shell exchangers and fin/fan coolers. Proper working heat exchangers are of major importance for cost effective operation of a plant. Failing or leaking heat exchangers can lead to lower efficiency, unplanned shutdowns or even accidents which in turn can result in damage to equipment, environment or people. During operation, heat exchangers are susceptible to several degradation mechanisms that might eventually result in leakages. Depending on construction, Heat exchanger tubing is subjected to process chemistry on both sides (I.D. & O.D.) such as: water, steam, process, or even air. material and operation condition mechanisms like corrosion, erosion, cracking, thinning, pitting, vibration, impingement or a combination of those mentioned can deteriorate
Frequent inspection of heat exchangers is required to:
Likewise, the choice of the available Non Destructive Test technique is of high importance. In general there are two main locations where leakages will occur in a heat exchanger:
Tube/ tube sheet joints can be visually inspected and standard NDT techniques, like Penetrant Testing or Magnetic Testing can be utilized. Inspection of the entire length of heat exchanger tubes however brings along a few extra challenges. Besides remote visual inspection a range of heat exchanger tube inspection techniques is available. Because the big variety of materials being used for heat exchanger tubes and the various degradation mechanisms that can occur, it’s not possible to use a single inspection technique for all situations. Selection of the right technique(s) for each situation is essential for good inspection results. Widely applied techniques are:
Selection of the right technique depends on tube material, expected defect types and the purpose of the inspection. Often more than one technique will be applied to increase the level of confidence of an inspection.
The MultiScan MS5800 is a multi-technology system offering these technologies:
Non-destructive testing of tubing and surfaces relies on a number of techniques, which often depend on the application and the materials involved. Use the Ectane 2′s built-in capabilities with almost any combination of the following testing technologies, according to your needs:
Whatever the technology, the Ectane 2 can drive it without external boxes or clumsy connections.
SA-International is a globally operating service provider delivering a broad spectrum of advanced NDT services across multiple industries, including Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Fertilizers, and more.
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