Chapter 36
AE Detection of Leakage Location
in an Ethylene Oxide Reactor
Yanting Xu, Yadong Wang, Gangyi Cai, and Jiele Xu
Abstract The imported ethylene oxide (EO) reactor in the EOEG unit of a petrochemical company has been leaking internally since it was put into operation. Before
we tried to locate the leak by AE technology this time, the foreign technicians from
the manufacturer had come to the company several times to find out the leak location, but they did not determine the location of the leak. Due to the limitation of its
complex structure and inaccessibility, it is impossible to use other methods for leak
detection. By taking some correction measures for the sound source location or other
setups, we finally located two highly suspected sound sources. After partial removal
of the half pipes, one of them was identified as the leakage point, and another is a
very serious crack defect.
36.1 Introduction
In recent years, AE technology has been widely used in the monitoring or testing of
pressure vessels or pipes, and usually good detection results has been achieved. It
not only solves the safety inspection problem of special pressure equipment, but also
saves the overhaul time and enormous cost of open inspection for enterprises. One
of the applications is to identify the leakage signals and locate the leakage source
[1, 2]. When AE testing is carried out for such equipment, it is generally required
to apply a test load that exceeds the maximum operating pressure in the near future,
so that serious defects in the equipment can emit acoustic signals, which are then
received by AE testing system for source positioning and analysis. Compared with
other detection methods, one of the advantages of AE technology is its insensitivity
to complex structures and accessibility.
Y. Xu (B) · Y. Wang · G. Cai · J. Xu
Zhejiang Academy of Special Equipment Science, Hangzhou 310020, China
e-mail: 657311787@qq.com
Y. Xu · Y. Wang
Key Laboratory of Special Equipment Safety Testing Technology, No.211, Kaixuan Road,
Hangzhou, China
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
G. Shen et al. (eds.), Advances in Acoustic Emission Technology, Springer Proceedings
in Physics 259, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9837-1_36
413
AE Detection of Leakage Location
in an Ethylene Oxide Reactor
Yanting Xu, Yadong Wang, Gangyi Cai, and Jiele Xu
Abstract The imported ethylene oxide (EO) reactor in the EOEG unit of a petrochemical company has been leaking internally since it was put into operation. Before
we tried to locate the leak by AE technology this time, the foreign technicians from
the manufacturer had come to the company several times to find out the leak location, but they did not determine the location of the leak. Due to the limitation of its
complex structure and inaccessibility, it is impossible to use other methods for leak
detection. By taking some correction measures for the sound source location or other
setups, we finally located two highly suspected sound sources. After partial removal
of the half pipes, one of them was identified as the leakage point, and another is a
very serious crack defect.
36.1 Introduction
In recent years, AE technology has been widely used in the monitoring or testing of
pressure vessels or pipes, and usually good detection results has been achieved. It
not only solves the safety inspection problem of special pressure equipment, but also
saves the overhaul time and enormous cost of open inspection for enterprises. One
of the applications is to identify the leakage signals and locate the leakage source
[1, 2]. When AE testing is carried out for such equipment, it is generally required
to apply a test load that exceeds the maximum operating pressure in the near future,
so that serious defects in the equipment can emit acoustic signals, which are then
received by AE testing system for source positioning and analysis. Compared with
other detection methods, one of the advantages of AE technology is its insensitivity
to complex structures and accessibility.
Y. Xu (B) · Y. Wang · G. Cai · J. Xu
Zhejiang Academy of Special Equipment Science, Hangzhou 310020, China
e-mail: 657311787@qq.com
Y. Xu · Y. Wang
Key Laboratory of Special Equipment Safety Testing Technology, No.211, Kaixuan Road,
Hangzhou, China
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
G. Shen et al. (eds.), Advances in Acoustic Emission Technology, Springer Proceedings
in Physics 259, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9837-1_36
413