A Smart Approach to Inspecting Fired Heater and Boiler Coils

By Tim Haugen, Global Business Director - Inspection at Quest Integrity. This article appears in the March/April 2020 issue of Inspectioneering Journal.

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Topics

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Introduction

What keeps you up at night? If you are responsible for the integrity of fired heater or boiler coils, it may be an unexpected failure.

Matching the proper inspection techniques to detect specific types of damage of an asset is a critical component for achieving long-term reliability and performance. Universally, smart or intelligent pigging is now a standard practice for the inspection of fired heater and serpentine boiler coils. Its growth in popularity and industry acceptance as a superior method for the inspection of coils prompted the addition of smart pigging into API Recommended Practice (RP) 573, Inspection of Fired Boilers and Heaters, in 2013. The growth in popularity also led to a surge in the number of smart pigging companies in the market, creating additional complexities for asset owners when aligning tool capabilities with inspection needs.

In API RP 573, verification of a provider’s intelligent pig operating range is strongly recommended prior to selection, as capabilities may vary among the companies offering this service.

The tool’s measurement grid, also known as ultrasonic testing (UT) sample spacing, and the minimum detectable wall thickness should be the main capabilities verified to ensure the various types of damage mechanisms commonly found in fired heater and boiler coils are detectable (see Figure 1).

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About the Authors

Tim Haugen, Global Business Director - Inspection at Quest Integrity

Tim Haugen has been with Quest Integrity for over 15 years. In addition to his corporate responsibilities, he has extensive field and managerial experience, having managed smart pigging inspection operations at client facilities worldwide and having overseen Quest Integrity’s Central US, Caribbean and Latin American inspection operations for many years. Read more »

Comments and Discussion

Posted by Subramanian Gomathinayagam on June 8, 2020

What is the minimum tube dia smart pigging can be... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Mohamerd Shaaban on June 8, 2020

Excellent topic, can we know more details from... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Tim Haugen on June 9, 2020

Hello Mohamerd, Thank you for the kind words... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Tim Haugen on June 9, 2020

Hello Subramanian, Regarding your question on... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Subramanian Gomathinayagam on June 9, 2020

Dear Tim, Thanks for the inputs. Are these tools... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Tim Haugen on June 10, 2020

Hello Subramanian, The tool is designed to go... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Subramanian Gomathinayagam on June 10, 2020

Thanks Tim. I will write to you in the mail. Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

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