Amine treating units — MEA, DEA,
MDEA — are highly susceptible to amine corrosion and stress corrosion cracking
in the heat-affected zones of welds. Conventional UT misses the tight,
branching cracks that characterise amine SCC. PAUT, TOFD, and ACFM are required
for reliable detection and characterisation.
Sour service process streams
generate hydrogen blistering, HIC, and SOHIC in pressure-containing steels —
often with no external surface indication until the damage is advanced.
Immersion UT scanning to NACE TM0284 is the only reliable method for quantifying
the internal damage extent and dispositing material against project acceptance
criteria.
Hydroprocessing reactors and
high-temperature high-pressure hydrogen service equipment are susceptible to
HTHA — a microstructural damage mechanism that progressively reduces steel
strength and toughness. Detection requires specialised UT techniques including
backscatter and velocity ratio methods referenced to API 941 Nelson curves.
Petrochemical heat exchanger tube
bundles accumulate process deposits, polymer fouling, and corrosion products
that mask tube wall degradation from standard inspection methods and accelerate
localised corrosion underneath the deposit layer. Thorough pre-inspection
cleaning followed by IRIS, RFET, or MFL tube inspection is required for
reliable condition assessment.
Phased array UT and TOFD for
high-probability-of-detection inspection of reactor vessel welds, column welds,
and nozzle connections — specifically configured for the tight, near-surface
cracks characteristic of amine SCC and wet H2S damage in petrochemical
environments.
ISO 17025-accredited immersion UT
scanning for HIC qualification testing, in-service sour service material
assessment, and incoming material acceptance — to NACE TM0284, ASTM G146, and
client material specifications.
ECT for non-ferrous tube bundles,
RFET and MFL for carbon steel bundles, and IRIS for confirmation sizing —
covering the full tube material population in a typical petrochemical plant
with the right technique for each tube type.
Pulsed eddy current and LRUT for
non-intrusive CUI screening of insulated piping and equipment — critical in
petrochemical plants where the volume of insulated piping makes full insulation
removal programmes impractical.
High-temperature UT for in-service
thickness monitoring on hot process equipment without shutdown, and acoustic
emission monitoring for active defect detection and leak identification between
formal inspection intervals.