Corrosion Testing at Refineries
Ultrasonic Testing in Safety-Critical Areas
For NDT service companies, the determination of wall thicknesses in industrial plants plays an important role in detecting corrosion damage at an early stage and to ensure safe operation of a petrochemical industrial plant such as the refinery in Leuna, Germany. Corrosion measurements are carried out here regularly with the wall thickness gauge SONOWALL 70.
Test Task and Testing Conditions
Test service providers such as MBQ carry out various test procedures for the chemical and petrochemical industry, including the refinery in Leuna.
"The regular non-destructive testing ensures safety in the refinery and the reliable operation of the plants,"
explains Christian Pick, technical director at MBQ. Measuring wall thickness on pipes and other components ensures that any weak points in the material caused by corrosion are detected efficiently.
„Most of the testing process is carried out while the system is in operation. Therefore no downtime occurs.“,
Christian Pick continues. In addition to piping, composite systems, tanks, heat exchangers, columns or air coolers as well as any components required for the operation of this plant are also tested.
The challenge of conventional wall thickness gages consists primarily in the considerable expense of the testing method. For each measurement, the tester must first sketch all points to be measured by hand and interrupt his work after every single test point measured, in order to save the results, place them in limit values and note down already tested points in a sketch. In most cases, he is even assisted by a second person.ct meets the required specifications.
Easy operation in harsh test environments
„Our customers appreciate an easy and quick to learn operation of the thickness gaoge“,
explains Manuel Lucas from SONOTEC. That‘s why the company attached great importance to an intuitive user interface of SONOWALL 70 and a clear structured menu. The device with the largest operating temperature range in its class from -20 ° C to +60 ° C (-4 F to 140 F) and the high protection class IP67 is predestined, for example, for NDT in shipbuilding, aircraft construction, in mwind power plants, metalworking industry or even refineries.
„Many tests take place outside, at high altitudes or in hard-to-reach areas, so it is important that the device does not suffer any damage due to falls or impacts with solid materials,“
says Manuel Lucas. A wrist strap additionally ensures safety during use. The low weight and the anti-reflective 5-inch display make the SONOWALL 70 extremely suitable for corrosion tests, thickness measurements through layers of paint and precision measurements in harsh and wet industrial environments or outdoors. The SONOWALL 70 is the first device on the market to feature the intelligent, wireless probe head recognition SONO-ID. For ultrasonic tests, the necessary probes no longer have to be manually selected from databases, but are automatically identified by the SONOWALL 70. The associated extended probe management enables the storage of probe-specific data such as DAC curves, lead lengths and serial numbers directly in the probe. The high-performance, high-capacity datalogger not only secures the readings, but also automatically stores A-pictures and all relevant data. Thus, records can be retrieved quickly and can be clearly read on a screen.
SONOGRID Corrosion Management Software
"Our customers appreciate an easy and quick to learn operation of the thickness gage",
explains Manuel Lucas from SONOTEC. That's why the company attached great importance to an intuitive user interface of SONOWALL 70 and a clearly structured menu. The device with the largest operating temperature range in its class from -20 ° C to +60 ° C (-4 F to 140 F) and the high protection class IP67 is predestined, for example, for NDT in shipbuilding, aircraft construction, in wind power plants, metalworking industry or even refineries.
"Many tests take place outside, at high altitudes or in hard-to-reach areas, so it is important that the device does not suffer any damage due to falls or impacts with solid materials,"
says Manuel Lucas. A wrist strap additionally ensures safety during use.
The low weight and the anti-reflective 5-inch display make the SONOWALL 70 extremely suitable for corrosion tests, thickness measurements through layers of paint and precision measurements in harsh and wet industrial environments or outdoors.
The SONOWALL 70 is the first device on the market to feature the intelligent, wireless probe head recognition SONO-ID. For ultrasonic tests, the necessary probes no longer have to be manually selected from databases, but are automatically identified by the SONOWALL 70. The associated extended probe management enables the storage of probe-specific data such as DAC curves, lead lengths and serial numbers directly in the probe.
The high-performance, high-capacity datalogger not only secures the readings, but also automatically stores A-pictures and all relevant data. Thus, records can be retrieved quickly and can be clearly read on a screen.
Wall Thickness Gauge and Flaw Detector
The SONOWALL 70 allows two modes of operation. In addition to the numerous possible uses as a wall thickness gage, it can also be expanded to a flaw detector by means of a software update. Thus, the ultrasonic measuring device is also suitable for checking weld seams and detects invisible cracks, inclusions, discontinuities, blowholes and other discontinuities in metals, plastics, ceramics and composite materials.
Features
- SONOGRID Corrosion Management Software - no manual sketches and data storage needed anymore
- SONO-ID - Intelligent probe recognition including saved setups
- 990g lightweight, carrying strap and flip screen for comfortable use
- Upgrade to flaw detector possible
Watch our SONOWALL 70 Tutorials
Do you have any questions?
Feel free to contact us! We will be happy to help you.
