Drum to Drum
Inspection of Boiler Bank Tubes
Carbon steel boiler tubes behind
swage reductions are one of the
toughest areas to inspect today. A
technician (and plant operator)
often relies on fixed-diameter RFT
probes that are small enough to fit
through the swage.
The requirement to fit through the
swage precludes the use of segmented
(array) probes. Instead,
fixed-diameter probes will employ a
single central detect to interrogate
the entire circumference of the
tube. The undersized detectors often
result in poor defect resolution.
The small probes also tend to tip
and wobble, creating additional
travel noise and reducing data
quality even further.
The Russell Flexible/Collapsible
Boiler Probe is an advanced Remote
Field Probe with swage entry
capability that enables NDE
technicians to inspect the tubes
behind swage reductions with maximum
sensitivity.
The probe’s flexible design allows
it to collapse through swage
reductions and expand to nominal
diameter behind the swage. The 3
inch probe, for example, has the
ability to smoothly collapse down to
1.55” diameter.
By staggering the detector coils and
separating them into two groups on
each side of the probe’s exciter,
the probe eliminates blind spots and
provides full 360° coverage.
Literature
Collapsible Probe Brochure
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