Bolt Inspection

Bolting, like any other structural component, is susceptible to degradations such as corrosion wastage and cracking. Compromised retainers, such as bolting, can cause uneven stresses and possible catastrophic failure of flanged connection as well as suspected structures like bridges, flare stacks, and process columns. In order to comply with safety regulations and to maintain structural integrity, it is required for structural and pressure retainer bolting to be inspected on a periodic basis. 

Bolt Inspection provides a practical solution for performing corrosion and crack detection and subsequent monitoring of bolts, threaded studs or shafts. It can determine the extent of corrosion or diameter loss and identify cracking without the removal of bolts, thus eliminating equipment downtime by performing inspections on site while bolting is installed.

The Advanced Bolt Scanner is a Phased Array Ultrasonic system using encoded orbiting scanner that provides a practical solution for corrosion monitoring and crack detection. It provides clear images showing bolt shank and thread condition. Inspection is performed without removal of the bolts or studs, thus eliminating downtime and enabling on-site inspection. Access to only one side of the bolting is needed for complete testing of the entire bolt saving time and allowing inspection of inserted studs. Since the scanner is encoded it allows for accurate repeatable inspections for future monitoring of known defects that are discovered.

Advantages of Asset Integrity Management:

• Gives immediate feedback on the condition of the bolt
• Allows groups of bolt into categories: No Corrosion, Minor, Moderate & Severe
• Allows integrity groupings: Cracked versus no cracking noted
• Decision can be made on-site regarding placement
• Data can be identified for further analysis and reporting
• The different scanner diameter allows for scanning variety of sizes