LOW FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC TECHNIQUE

BASED

FALCON 2000 SYSTEM FOR INSPECTION OF
ABOVE GROUND STORAGE TANK


Over the years ultrasonic thickness measurement and selective coupon
evaluation were the techniques used for condition monitoring of tank floor
plates which never gave the complete picture of the corrosion pattern taking
place causing leakages during operation.

Thorough scanning of each and every plate is now possible using Falcon
2000 system, which consists of Jr. and Sr. scanners along with custom made
software for online detection of the flaws. 100% tank floor plates scanning can
be done to detect flaws from soil side as well as product side.

The scanning is based on Low Frequency Electromagnetic Technique. A
low frequency electromagnetic field is injected into the plate using an external
horseshoe shaped driver coil placed in such a manner that the return
magnetic field is through the area to be tested as shown in figure - 1. A flaw
distorts the magnetic flux lines, which is sensed by sensors. The extent of
defect is measured by observing the change in phase and/or amplitude. The
flaws detected by LFET during the scanning can be further verified using
ultrasonic testing.


LED LIGHTS INDICATING WALL LOSS
TANK FLOOR PLATE
FLOOR THINNING
LOW FREQUENCY
ELECTRO-MAGNETIC
EMMISSION FIELD
E.M. COILS
UNIT SHOWN IS MODIFIED TO
FACILITATE DRAWING
RETURNING SIGNAL

Figure 1

Low frequency (< 30 Hz) is used on carbon steel plates because of high
magnetic permeability and conductivity of carbon steel, which greatly resist
the penetration of higher frequencies in the metal. With low frequencies the
penetration is more uniform throughout the wall thickness and defects on both
the top and bottom sides of the plate can be seen. By using very low
frequency the system can penetrate through coatings like epoxy, fiberglass,
rubber, cement lining etc having thickness up to 5mm with excellent results
and can also penetrate above 5mm with slight loss in sensitivity.





ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENTS:

i. Falcon 2000 Sr. / Jr. System:

Most advanced and compact system for inspection of Above Ground Storage
Tank Plates. PC based modular electronics uses digital processing to provide
Real Time data, high-resolution color graphics with 3D display.

Trolley mounted integrated system consisting of

a. Senior Floor Scanner 32 channel (64 Sensors)
b. Junior handheld scanner 16 channel (32 Sensors)
c. Electronic box
d. Laptop computer loaded with software

FALCON 2000 SENIOR.



Falcon Integrated system for one man operation





FALCON 2000 Junior



Falcon 2000 Jr. Hand scanner used for
scanning hard to reach areas






Data consisting of pitting and gradual wall loss viewed online / real time






Below are few drawings representing Inspection Summary of Tank Bottom
Plates