Acoustic Emission has been successfully used for more than 3 decades to inspect the condition of storage tanks and pressure vessels with minimal disruption to the operations as only external access is required without the need to clean the inside of the equipment being inspected.
The energy transformation that we are witnessing nowadays is bringing new challenges to the market where storage is either at very high pressure or very low temperatures.
For example, hydrogen is stored at very high pressures and Acoustic Emission can be readily used for the inspection of such cylinders or large vessels.
Acoustic Emission equipment and procedures have also been developed to support clients for the inspection and monitoring of cryogenic tanks and vessels. As cryogenics fluids require extremely low temperatures there are certain requirements that need to be met by the storage tanks meant to hold such substances. In many cases, newly designed cryogenic tanks are designed as double walled due to the thermal isolation required and the need to seal the tank to maintain purity of the fluid and stopping them from harming the outside environment.
The double-walled design, although ideal from the point of view of the optimization of process and safety, is a real challenge for inspection since one can no longer access the internal structure after the double-walled tank has been built. ATEX rated Acoustic Emission permanent sensors and NH3 vapor approved sensors have been developed to tackle such issue and permanently monitor the tanks (or at the very least leave sensors in place so an inspection is feasible in the future). Sensors are fitted within small holes and wired to the outside of the tank so can be readily accessible for inspection and/or monitoring.
Omnia Integrity, with its team of Level 3s in Acoustic Emission speaking a total of 6 languages, is very well placed to be the ideal partner to deliver and support such type of Acoustic Emission monitoring projects with the best Acoustic Emission equipment currently available in the market. We can deliver the required level of support on monitoring projects in a safe and optimized manner for the clients as we are familiar both with the AE technique and with the additional efforts required for installation, data transfer, data management and interpretation.
