Reliability and safety of power plants is in direct relation with effectiveness of inspection programs. During the recent decade, acoustic emission method has been widely applied for in-service inspection of power plant systems in several countries of the world and demonstrated ability to improve production continuity with increased safety at reduced prices.
Primary applications of acoustic emission technology in power plants are on-line inspection and monitoring of:
- Steam piping.
- Boiler headers.
- Deaerators.
- Turbines.
- Water walls.
- Gas piping.
- Pressure vessels.
- Petroleum storage tanks and piping.
- Reinforced concrete and metal structures and foundation.
Successful experience of AE inspection projects in the Power Industry around the world demonstrated that AE technology is improving operational safety, reducing maintenance costs and downtime. Numerous confirmation tests performed by other NDE methods and metallurgical investigations demonstrated a high level of detectability of the AE method.
AE inspections are performed during normal operation and this grants multiple advantages for this technology over other NDE methods. Unlike other methods, AE performs inspection over 100% of structure during operation, allows quantitative flaw monitoring over long periods of times and can be used to estimate flaw propagation rate. AE is not only used as a non-destructive test method, but it also assists to identify risk factors and operational/stress conditions contributing to origination and development of dangerous flaws. Plant operators can use this information to prevent or minimize operational risks.