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    Boiler Tube Inspections

    Generating Banks and Tubular Air Heaters
  • In drum-to-drum boilers, TesTex, Inc utilizes the Triton RFET Inspection System to perform full length tube inspections from either the mud drum or steam drum. With its flexible probe design, the Triton RFET Inspection System can both detect and quantify flaws in straight sections as well as the bends of the generating tubes. TesTex also inspects tubular air heaters when present on certain boilers.

    Waterwalls, Super Heaters and Reheaters

  • In larger industrial and utility boilers, TesTex, Inc. utilizes the TS-2000 Tube Scanning System and the principles of the Low Frequency Electromagnetic Technique (LFET) to detect ID and OD flaws on the hot side of the tube. The system enables a continuous 120° scan of the tube surface with a single pass of the scanner. Any non accessible areas, such as around bends, viewports, sootblowers, etc. that can not be scanned, are UT spot checked to provide a 100% complete inspection. Typically, in gas and oil boilers, no surface preparation is needed for the LFET inspection. In boilers that use coal as a fuel source, a high pressure water blasting may be required.
waterwall diagram
Diagram from a waterwall report
waterwall waveform
Waveform shows a corrosion cell in a waterwall boiler tube

    Specialty Boiler Tube Inspection Applications

    TesTex, Inc. has the ability to detect the following failure mechanisms
  • Graphitization
  • Thermal Fatigue Cracking
  • Corrosion Fatigue Cracking
  • Magnetite Detection
  • Near Drum Corrosion
  • Please visit our Solution Providers Group page for additional information on our specialty boiler tube inspection applications.

    TesTex Advantages

  • RFET and LFET have the capability to inspect straight sections and bends
  • 350 – 450 generating bank tubes can be inspected using RFET in a single twelve-hour shift
  • 2,000 – 3,000 linear feet can be scanned using LFET in a single twelve-hour shift
  • More than 40 inspection crews can be deployed at any given time
  • Crews are equipped with multiple scanner/probe sizes and back-up equipment to avoid downtime
  • Neither RFET nor LFET require extensive tube cleaning
  • Can inspect tubing from diameters of one-half inch and greater
  • Both TesTex RFET and LFET get more area coverage than the other respective techniques
  • All data is collected and stored for future reference
Waterwall image

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Description Quantity Add to
Boiler Tube Inspection Services
Triton RFET System
TS-2000 Inspection System