For over 40 years, Russell NDE Systems has proudly developed a reputation as a driving force for innovation and superior products and services in the NDT industry. With leading technology and services, we’re proud to partner with clients from around the world, helping them to safely and accurately assess the condition of their equipment, plant and pipelines, mitigating the risk of large scale failures or damage in the process. Learn more about one of our standout technologies, the Ferroscope 308 RFT / ECT Instrument, below.

RFT and Eddy Current Inspection

Since the early 1990s Russell has stood apart in the NDT field due to our focus on refining Remote Field Technology (RFT) and Eddy Current Technology (ECT). As nondestructive methods of inspection, RFT and ECT technologies allows for heat exchanger and boiler owners  to safely and efficiently gather information about the condition of their equipment during plant outages.  In addition to RFT and ECT, Russell has recently added Near Field Technology (NFT) and Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) capabilities to the Ferroscope (more about them in a future article)

RFT inspections are typically performed on ferro-magnetic tubes (eg Carbon Steel, Nickel, Duplex and Monel), it may also be used on high conductivity, non-ferrous materials such as copper, brass, cupronickel and aluminum. ECT inspections are, conversely, conducted on non-ferrous tubing and can also perform material sorting, as well as crack and corrosion detection on aircraft and other parts.

What are the benefits of RFT and ECT

Both RFT and ECT inspection techniques offer a multitude of benefits when it comes to inspecting your heat exchangers and boilers. Advantages for each system are as follow:

RFT

• Can detect ID and OD indications with the same sensitivity
• May be used on ferromagnetic materials
• Extremely sensitive to variances in wall thickness

EFT

• Detects surface and near surface defects
• Sensitive to small cracks and wall-loss defects
• Can easily inspect complex shapes and sizes of conductive materials
• Suitable for identifying flaws such as corrosion, erosion and cracking
• Can be used in array format for large area scanning or internal high-resolution probes

The Russell NDE Ferroscope 308 RFT/ECT System

Russell is proud to be at the forefront of the NDT field with our array of tools, among which is the award-winning Ferroscope 308 RFT/ECT System. Widely regarded as the world’s most sophisticated remote field testing system for the NDT of tubes, pipes, and plate. The Ferroscope allows for use of RFT probes in addition to ECT standard bobbin probes; pitch-catch probes; partial saturation (SATURN) probes; TT (through transmission) probes; I-PIT and E-PIT probes, CIRC E-PIT, Bracelet, VertiScan and several other specialty type probes. A full line of removable head ECT probes are available with the system, and all probes are compatible with eddy current instruments produced by other manufacturers.

Learn more about the benefits of RFT and ECT inspection, as well as our line of industry leading tools by contacting Russell NDE Systems today.

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