NIIK possesses the all methods and required devices for various chemical plants process equipment diagnostics.
In order to fulfill these purposes NIIK employs certified specialists and possesses all necessary instruments and appliances to carry out the following types of non-destructive inspections:
- eddy current thickness measurement and defectoscopy of heat-exchange equipment piping;
- defining of interlining gap size in the lined equipment in order to discover shell damage;
- eddy current defectoscopy of welding joints and of sealing surface of equipment;
One of promising and priority directions in equipment diagnostics is heat-exchange equipment tube bundles testing by eddy current method. This method is well suited for detection of such defects as reduction of thickness, cracks, corrosion pits and mechanical damages. This testing method consists in inserting a special probe inside the tube and scanning of the tube surface along the whole length. Zetec MIZ-28 instrument (USA) is applied as a recording device. Zetec is an acknowledged world leader in the field of eddy current testing instruments manufacturing. This method is suitable for testing of tubes fabricated of both non-ferromagnetic and ferromagnetic materials.
NIIK has gained significant experience in the field of heat-exchange equipment diagnostics of not only urea plants but also of ammonia, acetic acid, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, ethylene glycol, styrene plants.
NIIK specialists are competent in the following urea plants equipment repair techniques:
- new rolled lining installation technique;
- proprietary new lining installation technique of lining with backing strap;
- high-pressure vessels shell (thick-walled and multilayer) reconstruction technique;
- heat-exchange equipment tube bundles replacement technique;
- seal assemblies, nozzles and other equipment elements replacement technique;
- internals installation technique in process of high-pressure vessels modification, etc.
For more than thirty years NIIK has been working in the field of main process equipment repair in many urea plants with total liquid recycle and stripping process on the territory of Russia and former USSR.
In the last ten years full and partial lining replacement works have been carried out with application of NIIK techniques and under NIIK specialists technical guidance and supervision in more than 15 urea synthesis columns supplied by Stamicarbon, Snamprogetti and Tecnimont.