Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL)
For the API 650/API 653 Storage Tank Inspection, the EIWAA utilizes Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) inspection to detect whether the tank floor or bottom plate is thinning or corroding.
In order to detect corrosion and pitting in steel structures, most commonly pipelines and storage tanks, Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) uses powerful magnets to magnetize the steel. Predictions of remaining life are made simpler by latest advances in the techniques used to assess tank floors. The most advanced MFL floor scanner available right now is the Floormap3Di. Our Hand Scan HS 100 system, which is perfect for storage tanks with diameters under 10 m, petal floor plate designs, or in situ heating coils, is another supplementary inspection tool offered by EIWAA.
One of a new generation of MFL devices designed for the inspection of bulk liquid storage tank floors is the Floormap MFL 2000 tank floor scanner. Utilizing the most recent advancements in magnet design, the system provides improved performance on thicker floor plates (10mm and above).Despite its increased magnetism, the 2000’s ergonomic mechanical design enables it for the magnet carriage to be “broken” from the floor with substantially less effort than earlier designs. Full data capture of the signals picked up by MFL is achieved by an onboard computer, allowing for the mapping of defect indications to be done afterwards via graphical reporting software. This program enables the color-coded banding of problems in line with their severity at the operator’s discretion.
By using an ultrasonic technique, the 2000 allows the cross-checking of pitted areas in order to confirm material loss (expressed as a percentage of plate thickness) and verify MFL banding. The reporting program can adjust for any difference between the results of the ultrasonic testing and the MFL banding. The 2000 is made to find corrosion that appears like a lake or a conical pit underneath the floor and is represented by an artificial reference hole that is 40% deep. Pitting of about 20% loss in a 6mm plate can be recognized and sized under perfect situations. By switching the 2000 into manual mode, floor thicknesses greater than 12.5 mm and less than 20 mm can be examined. Due to the lower flux levels created in the thicker plates, corrosion cannot be measured or traced in these plates.
