GE’s Rightrax Corrosion Monitoring System Is Now ATEX CertifiedBillerica, MA, USA – August 20, 2007 – The automated, on-line version of the Rightrax corrosion/erosion monitoring system from GE Inspection Technologies has now been certified for operation in ATEX zone 2 locations. This significantly extends the potential application of this intelligent monitoring system to areas, which could suffer short-term exposure to explosive gas mixtures. The GE Rightrax system is designed for permanent installation on pipelines and process plant to provide corrosion and process engineers with accurate and repeatable, on-demand wall thickness measurements. These can then be used as part of asset owners’ predictive maintenance programmes. In addition, the system’s remote connectivity enables asset owners and service providers to reduce the safety risk to personnel when operating in inhospitable locations. Capable of operation at temperatures up to 120ºC, the Rightrax system provides an ultrasonic, non-intrusive, on-line solution to corrosion/erosion monitoring, especially for remote, difficult access or even dangerous plant locations. Once fitted, there is no need to remove lagging, erect scaffolding, and excavate pipelines or shutdown plant to check on plant or equipment integrity. The basic components of the Rightrax monitoring system are the M2 sensor and the DL1 data logger. The M2 sensor is a multi-element, flexible, self-adhesive ultrasonic transducer array that is permanently bonded to the plant or pipe to be monitored, at critical locations where corrosive/erosive activity has historically taken place or is anticipated. A calibration sensor, an identification chip and a temperature sensor are built into the M2 unit and the 14 discrete ultrasonic transducers are each accessed by means of a small-integrated control module. A self-adhesive tape provides ultrasonic coupling and, once installed, the sensor can be coated in any conventional insulating or proofing material used to protect the pipe or plant. The DL1 data logger has many of the functions of a conventional flaw detector but can be operated by unskilled personnel. It is used to interrogate the M2 sensors and can display inspection data in terms of wall thickness or rectified and unrectified A-scans on a built-in LCD screen. It can store data records from up to 100 sensors before uploading to a PC is required via the RS232 serial port. Measurement data can then be viewed on a PC. The Rightrax system features an armoured standard co-axial cable terminated with an IP68-sealed nickel-plated plug. Extension cables up to 70 meters in length can be used via a jointing enclosure. When employed as a fully automated system, for example in the remote monitoring of unmanned sites or plant and equipment in hazardous locations, a number of multiplexed, DL1 data loggers can be driven by a remote line driver with data retrieval to a host PC , with the data viewable via the users corporate WAN/LAN system to any location. |
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