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MATRIX probe Progress Report 2008. By Jay Zimmerman Independent Electronic Inspection (IEI) Presented at the 10 th EPRI BOP Heat Exchanger NDE Symposium June 16-18, 2008 San Antonio, TX. “Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice by courageous patience”.
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MATRIX probeProgress Report 2008 By Jay Zimmerman Independent Electronic Inspection (IEI) Presented at the 10th EPRI BOP Heat Exchanger NDE Symposium June 16-18, 2008 San Antonio, TX
“Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice by courageous patience”. Hyman Rickover
What is MATRIX? • Multi Axis Transmit Receive Inspection (X) • Proof of concept in 2003 under EPRI member utility sponsorship (Nuclear Management Co.) • Introduced at 2004 EPRI BOP and SG NDE conferences with patent pending • Despite showing great promise, MATRIX was placed in mothballs in 2005 when problems arose on several projects and funding ran out • Investors were sought from 2005 to 2007 • Back to life in late 2007 thanks to IEI
What does MATRIX offer? • Axial crack detection • Circumferential crack detection • Diagonal crack detection • Pit detection • Suppression of tubesheet expansion • Suppression of TSP • Suppression of tube pilger noise • Suppression of fin noise (internal or external) • Single channel operation (like bobbin) • High acquisition speeds (like bobbin)
How does MATRIX work? 0 degrees 360 degrees TUBE AXIS DIAGONAL COIL SEGMENTS (CONNECTED IN SERIES) INSURE DETECTION OF CIRC, AXIAL, AND VOLUMETRIC DEFECTS BOTH COILS (GREEN AND GOLD) OCCUPY THE SAME AXIAL POSITION ON THE PROBE, THEREBY SUPPRESSING TSP, EXPANSION TRANSITION, RADIAL DENTS = Receive coil “A” = Optional Transmit Coil TRANSMIT/RECEIVE BENEFITS = NOISE REDUCTION AND IMPROVED SENSITIVITY = Receive coil “B”
Successful field deploymentMay 2008 • 1.312” OD X .109” wall 316L SS tubes • Tubes carry sulfuric acid • Exchanger less than one year old • Replacement for 12-year old exchanger with severed tubes at tubesheet (hard rolled) • Indicative of circumferential cracking problem • MATRIX was chosen to check for early signs • Mag bias MATRIX with wide grooves was used • 4 coils, each covering 90 degrees (plus overlap)
Successful field deploymentMay 2008 • Probes were fully encased in stainless steel to resist extremely corrosive environment • No centering devices were present, but a vertical exchanger and very good tube cleaning allowed for use of Teflon tape to maximize data quality • This was a full length test, but only the tubesheet area was analyzed (bobbin data used for the remainder of HTSA) • Data shown in this presentation may not reflect actual analysis results
Clean expansion signal Suppressed expansion signals 12’ long tubes with no supports Tube sheet thickness = 2” Data presented courtesy of The Young Group
100% circ notch, 45 degree extent Data presented courtesy of The Young Group
indication at tubesheet Data presented courtesy of The Young Group
indication at tubesheet Data presented courtesy of The Young Group
indication at tubesheet Data presented courtesy of The Young Group
Indication in free span Data presented courtesy of The Young Group
indication at tubesheet Data presented courtesy of the Young Group
indication at tubesheet Data presented courtesy of the Young Group
indication at tubesheet Data presented courtesy of the Young Group
indication at tubesheet Data presented courtesy of the Young Group
MATRIX strengths and limitations • “MATRIX is an effective tool for inspection of tubesheet expansions” (per Young Group level III) • “At $1,000 each, MATRIX probes were a cost-effective alternative to array or RPC probes” • $800 each for non-mag-bias version • MATRIX/bobbin hybrid could be used for next inspection to save time (price TBD) • Wide grooves were required to fully penetrate thick wall tubes in poor fill factor conditions • Though most MATRIX probes offer substantial pit detection, these probes did not because of wide grooves
Copper Air Conditioner tubing with enhanced fins (OD and ID) Coils must be somewhat perpendicular to internal fins Not parallel
Lesson learned in 2004;helical undulations in tubing Barely visible in RPC data shown here
Rare helical undulations wreaked havoc on MATRIX data because coils were parallel to the “waves” Flaw clearly detected, but distorted by horizontal noise = DQ
Must therefore aim “canoe” into waves, or else there will be problems YES NO
MATRIX goals in HVAC • Replace Tri-tip probe as the industry standard • Tri-tip is IEI’s patented probe for comprehensive HVAC tube testing • Includes AC3, bobbin, and Cross-Axis in one probe • MATRIX already outperforms in many areas • Undergoing optimization right now • Final product will probably be a MATRIX/bobbin hybrid
How does MATRIX suppress fins? TUBE AXIS Each circuit (green and gold) sees the same number of fins at any moment in time allowing for common mode cancellation
MATRIX response to tiny pin hole (.039” diameter 100% thru wall)
Bobbin response to tiny pin hole(.039” diameter 100% thru wall)
MATRIX response to 50% OD circ saw cut in opposite transition
Both flaws with AC3 probe(second pull) . DEAD SPOT
MATRIX probe has no dead spot OVERLAP ZONE
What are other uses of MATRIX? • Radial dent suppression • Flaw detection at supports without mix • Flaw detection at TTS without mix • Mixed mode crack detection • Identification of over-roll and under-roll conditions at tubesheet • Data from EPRI SG lab samples follows (including real cracks grown in autoclave)
MATRIX probe radial dent suppression (no mix required) T/R ABSOLUTE CHANNELS T/R DIFF CHANNELS UP TO 25:1 SUPPRESSION
MATRIX probe TSP suppression(no mix required) T/R ABSOLUTE CHANNELS T/R DIFF CHANNELS UP TO 25:1 SUPPRESSION