Acoustic Emission testing is fundamentally different from every other NDT technique in this portfolio — it does not introduce energy into the structure and measure the response. Instead, it listens. AE sensors detect the transient elastic waves — acoustic emissions — released by the material itself when an active damage process occurs: a propagating crack emitting energy as it opens, a corroding surface generating acoustic signals as metal loss accelerates, a pressurised leak producing high-frequency noise as fluid escapes.
AE Inspection Capability
Pressure Vessel AE Inspection
AE sensors are attached to the external vessel surface at a defined
array spacing. The vessel is pressurised — to in-service pressure or a defined
test pressure — while AE monitoring is conducted. Active defects that propagate
under pressure load emit detectable AE signals; dormant defects do not. AE
vessel inspection provides a global assessment of defect activity across the
entire vessel from a limited sensor array — as an alternative or complement to
internal inspection that would require vessel entry and downtime.
Storage Tank AE Monitoring
AE monitoring of above-ground storage tank floors and shells during
normal in-service conditions or during a defined fill/drain cycle. Active
bottom-side corrosion and floor-to-shell weld cracking emit AE signals
detectable through the tank structure — providing indication of active
degradation between formal out-of-service inspection intervals, and enabling
risk-based decisions on inspection interval and priority.
Leak Detection
AE-based leak detection on pressurised systems — identifying the
location of active leaks or incipient leaks at valve packing, flanges, and weld
defects through the characteristic high-frequency AE signal signature of
pressurised fluid escaping from a tight path. AE leak detection can locate
small active leaks that have not yet produced visible evidence at the plant
surface.
Structural Integrity Monitoring
Continuous or periodic AE monitoring of bridges, pressure vessels,
pipelines, and critical structural connections — providing real-time data on
active damage processes as a complement to periodic inspection programmes.
Sensor arrays are installed and connected to continuous data acquisition
systems that alert when AE activity exceeds defined thresholds.
AE inspections are conducted in accordance with ASME Section V Article
12, EN 14584, ASTM E569, and API 650 (tank inspection). Reports include AE
event location maps, source characterisation data, activity trends, and
integrity assessment disposition — structured to support risk-based inspection
decisions and regulatory inspection submissions.