Inspection of carburization and ovalness in ethylene cracking tubes by using a semi-robot

CATEGORY: ROBOTIC SYSTEMS
Engineering Failure Analysis, Volume 25, October 2012, Pages 81–88
Inspection of carburization and ovalness in ethylene cracking tubes by using a semi-robot
S. Heidar Khodamorad a, Davoud F. Haghshenas b
a Technical Inspection Department of Jam Petrochemical Complex (JPC), Asalooyeh, Iran
b Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The primary causes of failure in the heat resistant tubes of ethylene cracking furnaces are carburization and creep. This leads to a decrease in ductility and embrittlement of the cracking tubes.
Authors develop a semi-robot for inspection and classification of the carburized zones in heat resistant tubes. Regarding the magnetic characteristics of the formed matrix in carburized zones, the carburization sensors were successfully employed for examination of the carburized layers.
The comparison between data acquired via this sensor-based method and those obtained from chemical etching implied a high enough compatibility and appropriate accuracy of the sensor-based measurements.
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