NDE in the refining industry - Developments and needs

Technological development in inspection technology has occurred rapidly over past 10 years. These developments have allowed users to obtain information on the condition of equipment that was previously unavailable, that is more detailed and comprehensive than previous methods, and that can be done without removing the equipment from service. The benefits to plant operators has been increased reliability and safety. This paper summarizes some recent developments in inspection technology for piping and aboveground storage tanks. The paper also discusses a joint-industry project that is currently underway to develop and commercialize new inspection technology for process industry applications.