Steam Plant Inspection & Consultancy Packages

A 2 day annual steam plant survey per boiler, which identifies and tracks any areas of concern both externally and internally. This requires the system to be taken out of service to allow surveyors access to inspect the internal components and parts of the plant. The inspection and survey will cover the following areas:

• Visual Inspection of all casings
• Visual Inspection of all gas ducting
• Visual Inspection of all steam plant mountings
• Visual Inspection of all expansion bellows
• Visual Inspection of all Sliding Feet/Pedestals
• Visual Inspection of all uptake stays/supports & Pipe Hangers
• Visual Inspection of all cladding & insulation
• Visual Inspection of combustion panel / Firing Platform fuel lines
• Visual Condition Assessment of Boiler Refractory
• Visual Inspection of Furnace/Gas Space Tube Geometry
• Visual Inspection of Furnace/Gas Space Tube Surfaces.
• Sequenced/Randomised Ultra-Sonic Thickness Gauging where accessible

A 2-to-3 day steam plant survey which is carried out every 5 years, usually coinciding with a 5 year class special survey cycle. This survey will provide a more detailed picture of the systems condition, operating performance and optimal efficiency. As well as everything which is covered by the basic survey, an internal borescope inspection of the generation bank, waterwall, screen, superheater tubes and close visual inspection of all headers to allow for an accurate assessment of their condition. A more thorough visual inspection is also carried out by checking the internal surfaces of the steam and water drums including any desuperheater banks which are applicable this can include but is not limited to, metallurgical replications. A combustion efficiency study can also be performed by a specialised combustion engineer to overview and report on the burners operating performance.
The inspection and survey will cover the following areas:

• Basic Steam Plant Survey
• Combustion Efficiency
• Visual Inspection within the Steam Drum & Water Drum, for surface condition
• Visual inspection, as access allows, of steam and water drum longitudinal and circumferential weld seams
• Visual Inspection of headers for cleanliness and quality of hand hole door landing faces where possible
• Internal Borescope Inspection of the water wall, screen, generating bank, uptake and superheat headers & tubes

A 3-to-4 day steam plant survey which is carried out every 10-15 years, this is aimed at units which have been in active service for a prolonged period of time. Therefore, Avantis will be focused on known areas of failure and fatigue within the system identifying any repairs needed to be made in order to keep the plant in safe working condition and optimal efficiency. As well as everything which is covered by the basic and 5 year steam plant survey, an infrared thermographic examination whilst boiler is online will be carried out to identify hot spots on the boiler’s exterior which will give an indication on areas that will require routine close visual inspection. In addition to this, an Ultra-Sonic flaw detection inspection will be performed to measure the thickness of the magnetite and oxides within the internal tube surfaces.
The inspection and survey will cover the following areas:

• Basic steam plant survey
• 5 year steam plant survey
• Infrared Thermographic external inspection whilst boiler is online to Identify areas of concern and accurately measure temperatures
• Ultra-Sonic Flaw detection inspection to measure the thickness of magnetite/hematite and oxides within the internal tube surfaces. These oxide layers can be measured down to a minimum thickness of approximately 0.2 mm or 0.008 in.

A 4-to-5 day steam plant survey which is carried out every 10-15 years, like the through survey this is aimed at units which have been in active service for a prolonged period of time but also includes a remnant life study designed to give a detailed report on the remaining life span of the boiler tubes. This helps operators to prepare for any future repair work in accordance with classification standards. Selected tubes are polished, and samples are taken of their grain boundaries to be sent off for analysis by a metallurgist. An Internal Rotary Inspection System (IRIS) is also used to accurately detect and size of any corrosion, pitting and any other irregularities of tubes. The inspection and survey will cover the following areas:

• Basic steam plant survey
• 5 year steam plant survey
• Through 10-15 year steam plant survey
• Visual Inspection of drum penetrations for defects at the attachments. Advise on any requirement for random liquid penetrant testing as/if applicable
• Internal Rotary Inspection System (IRIS) to be utilised in the superheat tubes or any other tube as and where required
• Remnant life study to be preformed on the superheater tubes or any other tube as and when is required