Tube Inspection Training

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Tube inspection Techniques

OUTLINE
• (1) WHY SHOULD WE PERFORM TUBE
INSPECTION??

• (2) ADVANCED TUBE INSPECTION TECHNIQUES


(a) Eddy Current Testing
(b) Magnetic Flux Leakage Testing
(c) Remote Field Testing
(d) Internal Rotary Inspection System
(e) Near Field Testing
• (3) Requirements for Tube testing.
WHY SHOULD WE PERFORM TUBE INSPECTION ???

• Defects like wall loss , cracks, pits originate after


continuous and prolonged in- service of heat
exchanger tubes and boiler tubes.

• Constant check has to be maintained at regular


intervals of time for proper functioning of tubes.
ADVANCED TUBE INSPECTION
TECHNIQUES
1.Eddy current testing (ECT)

2.Remote field testing (RFT)

3.Magnetic flux leakage testing (MFL)

4.Internal rotary inspection system (IRIS)

5. Near Field Testing


Requirements for Tube Testing
• Tube Material
• Tube diameter and wall thickness
• Probe type and size
• Length of probe cable
• Scanning speed
• Tube examination surface preparation.
• Reference standard
• Scanning Equipment
• Minimum fill factor
Personal Requirements
• Qualified Persons, Level II in Respective Tube
Testing method.
• A Level II will be qualified to set up and
calibrate equipment and to interpret and
evaluate test results in accordance with
Procedure.
Calibration Reference Standards
• Same tube Material.
• Discontinuities are placed according to
standard.
• Permanently identified with S.no.
ET GENERAL CONCEPT
• Eddy current NDE is commonly used in the
inspection of Non ferromagnetic conducting
samples
– Measurement of impedance changes in coils in the
presence of an anomaly in a conducting specimen
• Typical applications
– Steam generator tubing in nuclear power plants
– Aircraft components
• Alternating current injected into a coil creates
a magnetic field
• When this coil is placed over a conductive part
opposed alternating currents are generated,
they are the eddy currents.
• Defects in the part disturbs the path of the
eddy currents, which can be measured by the
coil.
• Eddy Current is a cost effective and reliable way
to inspect tubing.

• Inspection of non-ferromagnetic tube and


materials.
• Condensers, feed water heaters, air
conditioners, chillers, and other heat exchangers.

• Detection and sizing of metal discontinuities


such as corrosion, erosion, tube-to tube wear,
pitting, fretting, cracks, etc.

• Multi-frequency inspection with mixing and


filtering capabilities.

• Data is recorded and archived which will allow


you to track the corrosion rate for each tube.
Selection of the probe OD
Example: Tube OD = 19.05mm, tube Thickness =1.5mm, fill factor = 0.85

Tube ID = (Tube OD – Two times of tube thickness)


2
Pr obeOD
FillFactor  2
TubeID
 Fillfactor TubeID
Pr obeOD 

Pr obeOD   0.85  16.05


Probe OD = 14.79mm
Magnetic Flux Leakage Technique
Inspection technique suitable for wall-loss
detection and measurement of sharp
defects, such as pitting, grooving, and
circumferential cracks.

• Applicable to ferromagnetic tubing.


. The probe consists of 3 coils i.e.
Differential (lead), Absolute and Trail.

• Effective for testing aluminium-finned


carbon steel tubes because the magnetic
field is mostly unaffected by the fins.

• A good Back-up inspection to Remote


Field Testing.
Basic Principle:
The principle of operation is based on magnetization.
• Two permanent magnets coupled to a steel core are used to magnetize
the tube wall until complete saturation is reach. To that, three coils are
added each one being sensitive to specific defects.

• An absolute coil is winded around the core to measure the magnetic


field variation caused by general wall losses
• When a small flaw is located between the two magnets, the
magnetic field in the tube wall is disturbed and a small amount of
flux leak in to the inner tube.

• This flux leakage is detected by differential coil located between


magnets.
Remote Field Testing (RFT)
• Full wall inspection of ferromagnetic
tubes.

. The probe consists of 3 coils i.e. One


exciter and two receivers.

• Used for the detection and sizing of wall


thinning caused by corrosion, erosion, wear,
pitting and baffle cuts.

• Used to inspect boilers, feed water


heaters, air coolers, and carbon steel heat
exchangers.
IRIS is an ultrasonic technique used for the
inspection of a wide range of materials, including
both non-ferromagnetic and ferromagnetic tubing.

• Allows for the detection and sizing of wall loss as a


result of corrosion, erosion,
tube-to-tube wear, pitting, fretting, cracking and
baffle cuts.

• Focused ultrasonic probe and a rotating mirror to


produce a helical scan.

• Ultrasound is reflected from the tube ID and OD


and the time difference is used
to calculate the thickness.

• IRIS is a great backup and verification tool for the


other tube inspection techniques.

• IRIS data to be presented as a B, C, or D-scan


image.
Near Field Testing (NFT)
• Near field testing (NFT) technology is a rapid and inexpensive solution
intended specifically for fin-fan carbon-steel tubing inspection.

• This new technology relies on a simple driver-pickup eddy current


probe design providing very simple signal analysis.

• NFT is specifically suited to the detection of internal corrosion, erosion,


or pitting on the inside of carbon steel tubing.

• The NFT probes measure lift-off or "fill factor," and convert it to


amplitude-based signals (no phase analysis). Because the eddy current
penetration is limited to the inner surface of the tube, NFT probes are
not affected by the fin geometry on the outside of the tubes.
• Comparison of VT, ECT,RFT,MFL AND IRIS techniques
S.No DESCRIPTION VT ECT RFT MFL IRIS

1 Materials Used All Mainly Non Ferrous Ferrous Ferrous/Non


Ferrous Ferrous

2 Fill Factor -------- 0.85-0.9 0.7 0.85-0.9 -----------

3 Remote
Pulling Speed controls 2 m/s 0.1-0.3m/s 1 m/s 50 mm/s
speed

4 Pits, cracks, Pits Pits, Wall Thickness


surface Corrosion, Corrosion, Circumferenti Measurement
Can Detect defects Erosion, Axial Erosion, Wall al cracks, and Defect
visible to Cracking Loss Wall Loss Sizing
naked eye

5
Tube Cleaning Optional Mandatory Optional Mandatory Mandatory
Thank You

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