Nondestructive evaluation techniques for condition monitoring of components and plants

Abstract

Condition monitoring of components and plants are of great importance for safe and reliable operation and for increasing productivity of plants. The challenges towards the condition monitoring can be sucessfully met by employing non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. Vibration monitoring techniques are applied for periodic/continuous assessment of the condition of machinery parts and plants. Acoustic emission technique is used for leak detection and for structural integrity monitoring applications. Infrared thermography technique is employed for condition monitoring applications in steel, electrical and petrochemical industries. Lubricant analysis by ferrography, in-situ metallography, replica metallography and field signature mapping are also used for condition monitoring applications. In this paper, applications of these NDE techniques for condition monitoring of components and plants have been discussed. The successful implementation of these techniques could help to properly diagnose faults in plant components, enables taking timely decision about repair/replacement of components/plants, thus ensuring increased safety, reliability and productivity.