Integrated mechatronic system for reformer tube internal geometric distortion inspection

Reformer tube is a kind of pressure vessel working under high temperature. It is a major and expensive component in chemical process industry especially in oil and gas industry. Each reformer tube costs over thousands of dollars. A reformer furnace could contain hundreds of over 15-meter long vertically installed reformer tubes working under pressure up to 15 to 20 bar and temperature reaching 700 to 800°C. Any tube failure during production time means a catastrophic production failure and million-dollar lost. Periodic tube inspections are mandatory. Such inspections can call for significant manpower, time, and financial investment in order to meet the national and international legislations and standards for health and safety. This paper presents an approach moving towards automated reformer tube inspection. The approach presents an integrated mechatronic system that consists of five major units: reformer tube sensing, reducer (pigtail) checking, data acquisition, communication, and real time control. Such an integrated tube inspection system has the advantages of measuring both tube body and pigtail using one integrated device, obtaining distortion data in real time and processing data analysis on site to support tube replacement decision making. With the available sensing, communication, and control methodologies and technologies, the proposed integrated reformer tube inspection system could be a feasible and economical solution for plant maintenance in oil and gas industry.