Tube Inspection

BISCO’S Services provides a comprehensive inspection program consisting of multiple tube inspection techniques, to determine the integrity of heat exchanger tube bundles. A variety of state of the art inspection methods such as: Eddy Current Testing (ET) of non-ferrous tubing and Remote Field Inspection (RFT) of ferrous tubing are supplied by OLYMPUS. A Remote Visual Inspection (RV) is typically employed for follow-up inspection of defective tubing to aid in root cause analysis.

Eddy Current Testing (ET)

Eddy Current Testing (ET) is a versatile NDT method that can be used to detect (near) surface defects in conductive materials without removing the coating.A probe with a single coil—or ideally, an array of them—sends an electrical pulse throughout the component to be examined. The probe pulls through the tube, recording readings in the electrical field along the way. This method offers multiple benefits, making it one of the more popular techniques.

Remote Field Eddy Current Testing (RFET)

RFET is similar to standard eddy current, Remote Field is a technique used for the inspection of tubes made of ferrous materials, like Carbon steel and Chrome-Molybdenum. RFT is only one of the techniques available for inspection of carbon steel tubes.

Internal Rotating Inspection System (IRIS)

An internal rotating inspection system uses sound, rather than electricity, to locate flaws or discontinuities within a tube. Water fills the tube as a rotating probe moves from one end to another. Data is collected and recorded.

Magnetic Flux Leakage Testing (MFL)

Magnetic flux leakage (MFL) is a fast inspection technique, suitable for wall-loss measurement and detection of sharp defects, such as pitting, grooving, and circumferential cracks. MFL is effective for aluminum-finned carbon steel tubes, because the magnetic field is mostly unaffected by the presence of such fins.