Technical Papers

Mirant Graphitization Study

Mirant provided 6 boiler tubes to TesTex that were suspected of containing graphitization. Four of the tubes were removed from Bowline Station and two were removed from the Pittsburg Station. The Balanced Field Electromagnetic Technique (BFET) was used to examine the tube samples. Curved OD HawkeyeDP probes along with a 45˚ Hawkeye DP probe were used with the ProdigyII Electronics (serial #09-3118-04)

Balanced Field Electromagnetic Technique Fundamentals:

The Balanced Field Electromagnetic Technique was developed to enhance the signal responses … Read the rest

Detecting Corrosion in Wellsite Oil & Gas Production Tanks

Well site storage tanks are vital to the production of oil and natural gas. Typically at each oil or natural gas well site, gas and liquids are separated through the use of either a two or three phase separator vessel. The resulting dehydrated natural gas is sent through a pipeline to a treatment facility ant the liquids are stored at the well site in production tanks.

EPRI – Reheater Inspection Project

TesTex completed Task 1: “Fabricate Realistic Mockup” on May 28th. Luminant Power donated some pendants that were removed from one of the units at the Monticello Station in Mount Pleasant, TX. TesTex rented a forklift to remove the pendant from the truck on March 17th. The pendants were moved to our shop.

ASNT Crack Detection Paper

The inspection of welds on piping, pressure vessels, columns, etc. is a major priority for plant personnel. Traditional methods such as magnetic particle, dye penetrant, shear-wave ultrasonsics, radiography, and vacuum box testing are useful but all have some limitations. Most techniques require extensive surface preparation for a successful inspection. Radiography requires the area to be evacuated during testing which causes scheduling conflicts during an outage.

IPEIA: LFET Inspection for ID Corrosion in SAG-D Piping

Sapphire Technologies Inc. has worked with numerous production facilities and pipe line companies that experience internal corrosion in various piping systems such as process piping, produced water, transmission lines and oil production lines. In this presentation we will discuss specific areas of a produced water disposal line describing what problems the line was experiencing and what solutions were implemented. We will discuss the non-destructive testing (NDT) methods used to locate and identify these flaws.

ASME Power 2008 Condenser Inspection Paper

A Borelex, Inc. Power Plant in Ashland, Maine had a need to evaluate their Surface Condenser. The unit had 27 tubes that were previously plugged. The unit had steam impingement troubles in the past and the plant wanted to focus the inspection in this area. The condenser contains 6,084 tubes that are 7/8” OD, 0.049” wall, 303” long, admiralty brass. The plant decided to use the Eddy Current Technique (ECT) to inspect 600 tubes. The condenser uses local river water.

TNT NDT Technician Article: BP Alaskan Pipeline Inspection

In August of 2006, a major petroleum company experienced the second loss of containment incident within the year on the pristine and environmentally sensitive North Slope of Alaska. Both leaks resulted from internal pitting corrosion on or near the bottom half of 0.85 m (34 in.) diameter transit pipelines. These lines transport 400 000 barrels of petroleum per day across 11 miles of Alaskan tundra. The failure meant an immediate shutdown of approximately three percent of the petroleum supply to the lower 48 states.

ASME Power 2008 Boiler Inspection Paper

TesTex, Inc. has worked with numerous utilities that experienced Boiler Tube Failures in areas such as water walls, superheaters, reheaters, etc. In this presentation we will discuss specific areas of a given boiler describing what problems (failures) the units were experiencing and what solutions were implemented. We will also discuss various failure mechanisms for boiler tubing, the causes, and various Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) methods used to locate and identify these flaws.

Magnetite Detection/Inspection Paper

Introduction to Magnetite Exfoliation
New supercritical boilers are designed with austenitic stainless steel boiler tubes in the superheat and reheat sections that operate at temperatures above 1005°F (540°C). At these elevated temperatures, stainless steel boiler tubes will produce magnetite on the inside surface of the tube. A typical arrangement of these tubes is shown in the picture below. When the boiler is taken off-line and the boiler tubes cool, the internal magnetite scale can exfoliate and accumulate in the lower tube bends.