As part of CIAI’s ongoing comittment to continually improve its inspection capabilities, CIAI has been searching for a means to quickly verify the presence of cracks in failure prone areas. From CIA’s point of view, a key requirement for the system is the ability to perform remote NDE inspection from inside the vessel without having to scaffold, remove insulation or prepare the surface area to be inspected. A variety of technologies were considered for the task and, after careful consideration of many aspects, ACFM (Alternating Current Field Measurement) was selected as the most appropriate technology for this particular application.

Remote Robotic Crack Detection, which was launched in July of 2010, employs CIAI’s custom built coke drum specific ACFM sensor, developed by TSC in the UK. Performed immediately after our laser and video coke drum inspection services, this new development will give operators a quick and definitive means of confirming the presence of cracks from the inside of the vessel. If ID cracks are present in the coke drum, the system is capable of remotely sizing these cracks to determine both depth and length

Benefits:

• Service can be performed between cycles, on-line without the need to blind the drum.
  
• No scaffolding, special surface preparation or personnel entry into a confined space.
  
• Remote PC-based operator control.
• ACFM Data stored for further review and follow-up.
• ACFM specific report provided for each section or anomaly scanned before CIAI leaves the site.

For more information or to inquire about using CIAI’s service, please contact us.