The application of acoustic emission testing (AET) utilizing process generated thermal stress to locate and evaluate service exposure induced cracks in high temperature refinery process equipment is discussed. Improvements in overall safety and mechanical reliability of high temperature refinery process units has been achieved while minimizing unit downtime. Comparisons between traditional non-destructive testing techniques and AET demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of each technique. AET, a global non-evasive technique, identifies areas where active/growing defects are present and ignores non-active defects which are unlikely to result in equipment failure. Specific methods and procedures required to perform thermal gradient AET are described in detail. Fourteen (14) specific examples of successful refining industry experiences using thermal AET are detailed. A brief discussion of AET theory is presented.

Subject
Test methods, Refinery processes, Materials, Piping, Inspection, Acoustic emission, Transducers, Thermal stress, Mechanical failure, Defects, Equipment, Acoustic emission testing, High temperature
Keywords:
acoustic emission, non-destructive, thermal, cracking, embrittlement, fatigue, testing, stress corrosion, AET, NDT
© 1991 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1991
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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