Friday, February 3, 2023
Prevent Lost Productivity; Inspect Your Heat Exchanger Tubes with Russell NDE
Prevent Lost Heat Transfer; Inspect Your Heat Exchanger Tubes with Russell Probes
Heat exchangers are critical equipment for the power, oil & gas, mining and chemical plant sectors, as they help moderate the temperature of fluids and gases for optimal safety and performance. Regular inspection is critical to maintaining your heat exchanger and heat exchanger tubes in top condition. Heat exchanger inspections from Russell NDE can detect any flaws in the unit and help you avoid significant downtime and sudden failures while informing you of areas where maintenance or optimization can occur. Continue reading to learn more about heat exchanger inspections from Russell NDE!
Inspect Now, Save Later
With the constant heating and cooling cycles heat exchangers must endure, it's not surprising that they face various degradation issues. Heat exchanger tubes operate under severe conditions, resulting in significant wear and tear over time. Some common heat exchanger tubing issues we uncover at Russell NDE are the following:
- Internal and/or External corrosion
- Internal Inlet End Erosion
- CO2 and/or Oxygen Pitting
- Cracking due to Thermal Fatigue
- Fatigue or Creep Cracks
- Baffle Wear or "Saddle Wear"
- External Steam Erosion
- Tube-to-Tube Erosion
If your heat exchanger is left untested, the above issues can lead to costly and significant damage. This can result in a safety risk for your personnel and potential loss of heating or cooling capability in the case of HVAC systems. Regular heat exchanger inspections can help operators determine the best next steps for repairs and preventative maintenance. Fortunately, Russell NDE can help with your heat exchanger inspection needs! So when you need peace of mind regarding the condition of your heat exchangers, trust Russell NDE. Russell manufactures instruments and probes for heat exchanger and boiler inspections and also offer the inspection service itself. Our probes not only fit our own instruments but also all competing instruments.
Key Factors Affecting Performance
Several issues can affect the performance of your heat exchangers. One of the best ways to ensure your bundles remain in top operating condition is to perform routine inspections (yearly if possible) at every plant shutdown and preventative maintenance. Regular maintenance and inspection of your heat exchanger can ensure issues are spotted before they develop into significant problems. Some common issues that can affect the performance of your heat exchanger and result in the previously mentioned tubing issues are as follows:
- Fluid Temperature
- Fluid Velocity
- Pressure
- Vibration
- Improper Fluid or Steam Flow
- Combustion By-Products such as Ash
- Condensation Accumulation or Wet Steam
These flaws can occur at any point in your heat exchanger and can be challenging to spot. That's why it's critical to partner with a skilled and experienced inspection service provider like Russell NDE. A thorough inspection of your entire heat exchanger unit is necessary to diagnose the variety of defects that can affect it. Our team has the skills, experience and tools required to perform these critical inspections. This allows you to make the optimal informed decision in how to repair the present damage and prevent further deterioration.
Heat Exchanger Inspections from Russell NDE
As a global leader in non-destructive testing, Russel NDE is here to help with all your heat exchanger inspection needs. Our team utilizes advanced Eddy current technology and EasyLogPro software to quickly and efficiently detect faults in your units. Our EasyLogPro interface can also create instant tube sheet maps and reports so you can quickly spot where the defects are on your tube sheet and plug any tubes that are about to fail.
Ready to learn more about heat exchanger inspections from Russell NDE? Contact us today!