10.14489/td.2025.11.pp.004-016

2025, 11 November

DOI: 10.14489/td.2025.11.pp.004-016

Gomera V. P., Tyupin S. А., Smirnov А. D., Fandofan А. А.
THE EXPERIENCE OF PNEUMATIC TESTS OF OIL REFINING EQUIPMENT ACCOMPANIED BY ACOUSTIC-EMISSION CONTROL
(pp. 4-16)

Abstract. There are various production-related situations in which conducting standard hydraulic tests (HT) of equipment using water as the loading medium is unacceptable due to the risk of damaging the equipment. As a result, replacing hydraulic testing with pneumatic testing (PT) has become a common practice in the industry. This article presents some estimates for determining the amount of potential energy accumulated in the system during PT, depending on the test pressure and equipment volume. These estimates, expressed graphically in terms of TNT-equivalent, can be used during test preparation to assess associated risks. The results of comparison of the estimates obtained for PT with the estimate obtained for the condition of conducting HT are presented. It is shown that the values for the energy accumulated during PT can exceed such values in the case of conducting HT by several orders of magnitude, which determines the increased danger of PT. The article discusses the practice of using the acoustic emission (AE) method to accompany PT in the case of replacing hydraulic tests with pneumatic ones, which complies with industrial safety regulations. The purpose of using AE control is to prevent possible destruction of equipment during testing and to increase the safety of its implementation. Given the importance of maintaining equipment integrity, using of AE control during PT is currently one of the most widely employed AE applications at oil refining facilities. Standard AE testing is also often performed during pneumatic testing of equipment. Two examples of testing of pressure vessels are presented, during which the pressure increase was stopped before reaching the maximum test values in order to ensure safety according to AE monitoring data. One example presents the results of AE monitoring of PT of a rectification column. The other presents the results of AE testing of an adsorber, including results of planar location of AE sources. Some results of the analysis of AE data recorded during these tests are presented. In particular, the relationship of AE data with the detected defects is analyzed. The information presented in the article may be of interest to specialists working in the field of AE testing of industrial equipment.

Keywords: pneumatic tests, hydraulic tests, accumulated energy, acoustic emission method, oil refining equipment, defects.

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V. P. Gomera, S. А. Tyupin, А. D. Smirnov, А. А. Fandofan (Kirishinefteorgsintez, Kirishi, Russia) E-mail: Данный адрес e-mail защищен от спам-ботов, Вам необходимо включить Javascript для его просмотра. , Данный адрес e-mail защищен от спам-ботов, Вам необходимо включить Javascript для его просмотра. , Данный адрес e-mail защищен от спам-ботов, Вам необходимо включить Javascript для его просмотра. , Данный адрес e-mail защищен от спам-ботов, Вам необходимо включить Javascript для его просмотра.

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