Accomplishments
Over the course of my 16 years of being involved in NDT and Research and Development, I have been involved in the formation of the below products and services for the firms for which I have worked. My role in each product varied but my primary function range from identifying the high value opportunity in the industry, presenting it to the R&D team for discussion, design review and manufacture of the product/service and finally distribution to the marketplace. Below are a few of the highlights of my career.
Boiler Waterwall Tube Scanning
One of the first “new” services I was involved in is known as Boiler Waterwall Tube Scanning utilizing the LFET method. Fossil boilers that have experienced a PH excursion or other water chemistry issues can develop failure mechanisms known as hydrogen damage, caustic gauging, oxygen pitting. These failures can cost the utility significant amounts of lost revenue due to the boiler being taken off line due to a tube failure. In 1998, the first large scope success of the system was deployed at Connecticut Power and Lights Devon Station. The inspection was a huge success and allowed the end user to continue operating for several more years with little to no tube failures. The overall savings to the plant and contribution to the bottom line at CL&P was made possible by this new technology. This service has become a several million dollar annual revenue generator for the firm. For more information please click the following: http://testex-ndt.com/products/ts-2000-lfet-tube-scanner/
Hi-Speed Eddy Current Testing of Condensers
In 1999, a definite need for faster testing of steam condensers tubes in fossil power plants emerged. Plants routinely performed small percentage inspections utilizing a manual hand pull method to gauge remaining life of the tubes. However, if a plant could perform a 100% eddy current inspection and increase efficiency over the long haul, the utility would make more money. While at TesTex, we partnered with a Japanese firm that was delivering eddy current testing at a very high rate of speed utilizing compressed air and mechanical retraction systems. The first large scale inspection utilizing this technique was performed in Pittsfield, MA and was a success. The asset owner was able to effectively repair the condenser in the short time frame for the outage. This is a multi-million dollar a year service. For more information about this service please click the following: High Speed Eddy Current Testing
EPRI PDI Qualified Procedure
In 2005, EPRI and Zetec worked to develop a procedure for the inspection of in-service dissimilar metal welds found in nuclear power plants. Zetec provided the knowledge and expertise to develop the technique and EPRI certified it for use in the field and the procedure has become the most widely adopted method for the inspection of PWSCC in welds. This DM Weld procedure continues to generate revenue from equipment purchases and millions of dollars via field service companies deploying the solution to the asset owner. For more information about this service please click the following: EPRI PDI Qualified Procedure