Equipment that operates at high temperatures is often the most problematic to test. It is common for equipment to be situated with poor accessibility, in challenging environments, and amongst hazardous materials and substances.
Image Credit: Cygnus Instruments Ltd.
Metal storage tanks, gas turbines, process furnaces, pipelines, heat exchangers, and fired heaters are all examples of hot equipment. They are widely used in the following industries and in more industry-specific applications, such as offshore platform process vessels, diesel engines, and chemical cargo tanks onboard chemical tankers. Other industrial uses include:
- Chemical Plants
- Nuclear Plants
- Petrochemical Refinery
- Processing Plants
- Oil and Gas Refineries
Despite the challenges, it is imperative that these facilities are assessed, arguably more regularly than others, due to the increase in temperature accelerating the rate of corrosion and the consequences if something were to fail. Despite the wide use of refractories to protect the outer shell of piping, vessels and furnaces from hot gases and liquids, refractory linings can still fail and threaten the integrity of the equipment. What’s more, hot assets tend to go hand in hand with high levels of pressure, causing the risk of fire and dangerous emissions, death, and severe environmental damage.
What Solution Does the Cygnus High Temperature Ex Probe Offer?
Combined with the Cygnus 1 Ex ultrasonic thickness measurement (UTM) gauge, the probe is designed for high-temperature, in-service, wall thickness and corrosion surveys across oil and gas, refining, energy, and process sectors. Thanks to its Ex certification and the UTM gauge’s ability to give accurate results, this Ex kit is the ideal solution for performing regular spot checks and preventative maintenance to predict failures and schedule repair work to avoid shutdown.
Ex Certified to All Ex Zones
The probe and the gauge are both certified for safe operation in Ex Zones 0, 1 and 2. The ability to work in the most volatile and hazardous environments for any amount of time without prior notice, isolation, or shutdown is highly valuable for effective preventative maintenance.
A Need for Speed
Extreme temperatures are one of the many risks these industries present. At times reaching as high as 300 °C, workers are vulnerable to significant dangers. From a maintenance point of view, this potentially dangerous period of contact time needs to be as fast, and as efficient as possible to minimise risks of injury.
When used with the Cygnus Ex gauge, the Cygnus High Temperature Ex Probe can measure hot assets (up to 300 °C) continuously with no cooling period, allowing inspection to be completed quickly and without interruptions. Throughout inspection, the gauge displays instant measurements that can be automatically logged without maintaining a separate record.
The kit can also measure through protective coatings, so measurements can be taken instantaneously without the time-consuming task of removing coatings.
No Need for Hot Work Permits
The entire kit is certified intrinsically safe for Zone 0, meaning there is no need for Hot Work Permits. A hot work permit application is often a lengthy process and may force a complete shutdown of all equipment, making regular spot checks impractical.
Hard-to-Reach Spaces
These industry applications are not only dangerous but also common to be in tight, inaccessible spaces. Testing heat exchangers, for example, extends to inspecting a web of pipes and tubes at multiple inaccessible angles. Fortunately, the Ex probe only needs access to one side of the testing material to achieve an accurate thickness measurement; along with the gauge’s secure portability, it is effortless to tackle these challenging spaces.