Non-Destructive Testing

NDT isn’t just for individual materials or pieces of equipment­—it can also be used to test whole process systems that aren’t easily disassembled. Large systems of equipment, instrumentation, and piping can be assessed without undoing the carefully done assembly.

For example: a pressure sensitive storage tank may have emergency relief devices and instrumentation for level, pressure, and temperature. It may also connect process pipelines with even more critical process units up and downstream. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an effective, sensitive measuring device that can give readings on tank wall thickness, weld strengths, and flange connection integrity? How about a measurement of the tank’s cooling jacket or the insulation’s heat transfer capabilities? Well, with non-destructive testing methods, all of this is possible.

In fact, even more so than possible, it’s necessary. Look at the petrochemical industry, for example. You may have equipment that ranges from tens of thousands (like a large stainless steel control valve) to upwards of tens of millions of dollars (think whole distillation tower assemblies). Now having a gist of the scale of capital costs, consider the operation and opportunity costs of shutting down some of these processes… even for a small period of time. An oil operation that processes tens of thousands of barrels of oil per day cannot afford to shut down for extended lengths of time. Even within a few hours, they would see massive revenue losses.

Costs aside, regular testing and preventative maintenance is critical to protect investments made in such infrastructure. NDT methods allow you to balance the need to protect and maintain equipment, while also ensuring continued operations, leaving processes in place, and the ability to quickly return to said processes.