Carbon steel tubing is present in all industries. The comparative high strength, crack resistance, and low cost of carbon steel tubing makes it the most prevalent type of pipe and tubing material worldwide. Read more at www.eddyfi.com

1. High-Speed Remote-Field Testing in
Carbon Steel Tubing
Application Note

2. The Challenge
Carbon steel tubing:
• Present in all industries
• High strength
• Crack resistance
• Low cost
Typically inspected with:
• Internal rotating inspection system (IRIS)
• Remote-field testing (RFT)
Neither technique is noted for its impressive speed.
2 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016

3. The Challenge
• US nuclear utility challenged Eddyfi to deliver an RFT inspection
system that could reduce the total time necessary to inspect a
heat exchanger containing more than 2000 carbon steel
tubes.
• The established inspection routine used RFT at 203 mm/s (8 in/s).
• Mock-up studies, performed at Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) NDE center in Charlotte, North Carolina, established RFT
could be used on SA-179 carbon steel tube specimens 19.00 mm
in outer diameter (OD) and 1.24 mm in wall thickness (0.750 in
OD, 0.049 in wall thickness) at up to 508 mm/s (20 in/s) without
discernible signal attenuation or degradation.
3 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016

4. The Challenge
Evaluate whether:
• Speed sustainable under field conditions
• Higher inspection speed would impact probe life and signal quality
• System integration to determine whether it meets inspection protocols
• Use downsized RFT probes to go through repair sleeves
on heat exchanger tubes
• 4× vertical heat exchangers:
• 2100 tubes
• 10 work shifts
4 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016

5. The Solution
Ectane® 2
Eddyfi’s workhorse tester.
• Portable
• Battery powered
• Supports wide selection of inspection technologies
5 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016

6. The Solution
Probot™ Probe Pusher System
• Powerful
• Small footprint
• Designed to exceed requirements
of balance of plant (BoP) inspections
• Offering other markets great productivity-enhancing
tool
Probot is key to this solution, allowing it to reach
the target 508 mm/s (20 in/s).
6 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016

7. The Solution
RFT Double-Driver Probes
• Designed for differential and voltage-plane absolute signal
analysis
• Can detect corrosion, erosion, wear, and pitting
• Free span
• Adjacent to tubesheets and structures
7 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016

8. The Solution
8 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016
Magnifi®
• Advanced acquisition and analysis desktop software
• Standard impedance plane and absolute voltage plane
• Impedance plane efficient tool to detect and characterize small
volumetric defects
• Absolute voltage plane enables more precise characterization
of large volumetric defects.
• Using both planes in concert allows improved detection, sizing,
and defect characterization.

9. The Solution
9 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016
Magnifi®
• Also capable of saving the balanced, nominal operating point.
• Becomes reference enabling:
• Tube-to-tube permeability variation tracking
• Easier normalization process

10. The Solution
10 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016
• Legacy RFT inspection systems installed into 3 of the 4
heat exchangers
• Eddyfi solution installed in remaining heat exchanger.
• Performed 2159 straight-leg
scans
• Approximately five shifts.
• Additional 1250 straight-leg
scans completed in one of
the other heat exchangers

11. The Solution
11 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016
Data analysis and management personnel kept pace despite:
• Higher acquisition speed
• Brief training period on the software and analysis method

12. The Solution
12 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016
Solution demonstrates:
• Significantly higher acquisition rates in carbon steel tubing
• Excellent data quality
• No increased probe wear
• No significant disruption of usual inspection workflow
Further work planned to:
• Increase acquisition speed to 1016 mm/s (40 in/s) in carbon steel tubes
• Wall thickness: 1.25 mm (0.049 in)
• Increase acquisition speed to 635 mm/s (25 in/s) in carbon steel tubes
• Wall thickness: 2.11 mm (0.083 in)

13. The Benefits
Solution has following benefits:
• Speed—RFT inspections 2.5 times faster than the current inspection
methods.
• High-quality data—Despite the higher inspection speed, acquired data
shows no significant signs of attenuation or deterioration compared to
historical data.
• Durability—The stainless steel sleeve of the RFT probe made it capable of
inspecting well over 2000 tubes.
• Better defect characterization—One-click normalization of all channels,
automatically generated sizing curves, and normalization tracking enable
easier, faster, and more precise characterization of volumetric defects.
• Easy deployment—The entire solution is portable, light, compact and fast
to deploy for improved productivity.
13 © Eddyfi NDT Inc. 2009–2016

14. www.eddyfi.com