Pressure vessel inspection
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Inspection of pressure vessels: is it necessary to shut down production or reduce the pressure to atmospheric levels? Can it be inspected while the pressure vessel is in operation?
Inspection of pressure vessels usually requires shutting down the operation and reducing the pressure to atmospheric levels. This is to ensure safety and to conduct a comprehensive and thorough inspection of the container as a whole and of its various parts. If testing is carried out while the system is in operation, it may not be possible to identify all potential security risks. However, there are also some special non-destructive testing methods that can be carried out while the container is in operation, such as ultrasonic testing, but these are usually only used as supplementary inspection methods. Overall, to ensure thoroughness and safety, shutting down operations and reducing pressure are the recommended approaches. .
Inspections of pressure vessels in use are divided into annual inspections and comprehensive inspections. The annual inspection is generally carried out by the user itself, with no specific qualification requirements (it is also possible to invite a qualified entity to carry it out). It is performed once a year and mainly involves a visual inspection of the exterior; no shutdown of operations is required. Comprehensive inspections must be carried out by qualified organizations, and generally include: strength verification, pressure testing, leak testing, thickness inspection, corrosion detection, hardness testing, metallographic analysis, and defect detection (penetrant, ultrasonic, radiographic, magnetic particle…). Therefore, the work must be stopped; such inspections cannot be performed while the equipment is in operation.