Eddy Current Inspection

on Air Coolers

DKP/INS
03/08/2017
 Outline

Eddy Current Inspection (ET) on Heat exchanger / air cooler tubes

ET Principle
Applications
Equipment
Capability on Tubes Inspection
Reporting

Job Preparation for CPA HGL (A-5030, A-5060) & COMP-1(8180 A/B)
Preparations (scaffolding, electric & water supply, etc.)
Tubes cleaning by using conco system

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 Brief ET Basic Principle

Electromagnetic induction from the coil

through the tested object,
It will generate eddy current that is affects coil
impedance,
Discontinuity on the object (ie. pitting, cracks,
wall loss, etc.) will disrupt the flow eddy
current, thus it can be detected.
Reference standard : ASME Sec. V article 8.

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 ET applications & Equipment
Wide range application of discontinuity detection (welding,
heat exchanger tubes, aircraft, etc.), material sorting,
For tube inspection, the probe is to be inserted along each
tube by using probe pusher / gun or manually,
Probe diameter is defined by fill factor that is minimum 0.8,
Probe diameter at least = sqrt (0.8 x (tube ID)2),
Probe diameter is to be referred for tubes cleaning,
Equipment to be used are:
Multi channel & multi frequency ET (ZETEC),
ET probes,
Signal recorder,
probe pusher / gun,

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 ET capability for tubes inspection

Capability / advantages for tube application:

Inspect the entire length of tube,
It detects pitting, wall loss, dent, etc., (far beyond capability of boroscope)
It differentiates internal & external defect.
Rapid inspection compare to IRIS,

Limited only for Non-ferromagnetic tubes material. Other technique to be

use for ferromagnetic material (ie. Remote Field Testing - RFT)

Inspection capacity > 200 tubes / team / shift

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 Reporting

List of tubes & its

numbering system
Type of detected defect.
Tubes mapping according
to inspection result,
Signal indication record
that can be compare to
next inspection result.

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 Preparations for HGL (A-5030, A-5060) & COMP-1(8180 A/B)

To be provided by contractors (DKP/INS):

Cleaning : Manpower, Equipment & tools for cleaning, and consumables
ET inspection : manpower, equipment, analysis & reporting.

To be prepared by TOTAL for air cooler inspection (CST/OPS,

CPA/MNT):
Spade, Scaffolding,
Material (washer, plug, etc),
Bolting dismantling & re-installation,
Small tent / tarpaulin for ET equipment,
Electricity (380/400 V, 3 phase for water pump, 220 V for ET equipment)
Water supply for tubes cleaning,
Pneumatic source (10 bar) for probe pusher,

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 Tubes Cleaning by using Conco system

How Do Conco Cleaners Work?

Conco tube cleaners are spring loaded to
effectively remove all deposits. The Conco water
gun, using 300 psi water pressure, shoots the
cleaner through the tube at 10 to 20 ft./sec.
Through a water flushing action, all soft and hard
deposits are shot out ahead of the cleaners,
leaving the tubes in an as-new condition.

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 CPA HP1 - A 8180 A/B (17/09/2003)

Tube internal - clean Inserting ET probe

In service since 1982, no record
of internal tubes cleaning &
inspection except boroscope.
Most of tubes internal are found
clean except some on inlet area
that need to be cleaned.
Tube condition are good - ET Equipment calibration ET tubes inspection
category 1 (max wall loss = 20%
of tube wall thickness)

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