Heat Exchangers
Inspections and MaintenanceAir Heater Inspection and Maintenance
Corrosion Monitoring Services (CMS) offers industry-leading air heater inspection and maintenance solutions for plant managers looking to enhance the performance and longevity of their tubular air heaters. Our specialized services, including partial tube repair, in-situ repair, our Thermal Barrier Lined Tube™ repair options, help prevent costly downtime, unplanned outages, and inefficiencies, ensuring your plant operates at peak performance.
Why Choose CMS for Your Tubular Air Heater Inspection and Repair?
At CMS, we understand the critical role that air heaters play in your plant’s operations. Our team of experts provides comprehensive inspection and repair services tailored to your specific needs, helping you identify and address potential issues before they escalate into major problems.
A repaired or rebuilt air heater, using CMS patent-pending designs and corrosion resistant tubing, can extend the life of your APH and other critical equipment.
On request, our experienced team can quickly help you evaluate your equipment based on site inspection and data analysis, using our proprietary Boiler and Air Heater Performance Calculator. We can then tailor products and services to improve your operation with rapid responsive service and protect it with longer-term corrosion reduction techniques and material.
Customized Air Heater Repair Solutions
Our goal is to get you back up and running to maximum efficiency as quickly as possible, so that you are able to realize measurable improvements immediately. We also work hand-in-glove with your management team to develop strategies that reduce associated costs required to complete necessary repairs.
A repaired or rebuilt air heater, using Corrosion Monitoring Services’ patent-pending designs and corrosion resistant tubing, can extend the life of your tubular air heater and other critical equipment.
Partial Tube Repair: Cost-Effective and Efficient
Damage to air heater tubes is often localized and limited to one section of the tube (e.g.: cold end corrosion). This is especially true when corrosion is the primary damage mechanism, and failures are located close to the tubesheet plate. When local damage is identified, CMS frequently recommends partial tube repairs of the air heater.
In a partial tube repair, CMS removes only the damaged section of the tube and installs structurally secure, air-tight replacement tubes, using its specialty tooling and custom pre-fabricated couplers. This method preserves the undamaged section of the tube and is often as effective as a full-length re-tube, but a fraction of the cost. Since 1985, CMS has performed thousands of partial tube repairs and is the industry’s leading provider of this solution.
Benefits of Partial Tube Repair:
A CMS partial tube repair in progress
In-Situ Repair: Advanced Solutions Within Your Plant’s Footprint
For air heaters with limited access due to overhead obstructions or adjacent equipment, our in-situ repair method offers an innovative solution. CMS’s proprietary Rapid Repair™
Conveyor Systems allow us to rebuild your tubular air heaters from the inside out, without dismantling surrounding structures. The goal is minimal disruption of your ongoing operations, enabling a rapid return to full capacity, but with much improved efficiency.
CMS’s turnkey repair process begins months in advance when we fabricate materials in our own shop. We don’t rely on third-party sources, which maximizes our quality control, minimizes costs, and reduces lead times. All are time-proven benefits that we pass on to our customers.
Our experienced project managers and engineers collaborate with you to determine the best possible solution that allows for seamless installation during an outage. We stand by our products and services, backing them with expert support, and in some cases, a five-year warranty.
Benefits of In-Situ Repair:
Thermal Barrier Lined Tubes: Long-Term Protection Against Dew Point Corrosion
Cold-end corrosion can significantly impact the efficiency of your air heaters. CMS’s Thermal Barrier Lined Tubes (TBLT) are the tubular air heater industry’s first and only long-term solution to aggressive dew point corrosion damage. Cold-end corrosion, localized cold zones, and heat sinks in an air heater can have devastating effects on reliability and, ultimately, your financial performance.
Damage develops when the surface temperature of tubing drops below the dew point. Acid condensation often leads to losses in wall thickness. Failure rates vary, depending on the fuel source and boiler configuration, but ongoing corrosion, plugging, and other issues that affect air preheater performance can have damaging impacts on an operation.
CMS’s patent pending Thermal Barrier Lined Tube™ is a product of precision engineering and more than 30 years of experience inspecting and repairing tubular air heaters. During the repair, CMS actually upgrades the metallurgy of your tubing. Modifications to the design of the tube and tubesheet plate are performed during field installation. Repairs result in the effective elimination of dew point corrosion failures and fly ash plugging.
Corrosion Monitoring Services can use its proprietary Boiler and Air Heater Performance Calculator to provide a thorough analysis showing you the financial impact of an air preheater’s current condition and an estimated return on investment timeline for repairs. Customers have achieved payback in as little six months and are realizing significant ongoing savings.
Benefits of Thermal Barrier Lined Tubes:
Tubesheet and tube ends before and after Thermal Barrier Lined Tube™ convective repair
Proactive Maintenance for Long-Term Operational Success
At CMS, we emphasize proactive maintenance strategies to prevent future problems and extend the service life of your tubular air heaters. Our detailed inspection and repair services are designed to optimize your plant’s efficiency and reduce long-term maintenance costs.
Erosion Repairs: Protect Against Fly Ash Damage
CMS provides long-term repairs from problems associated with fly ash erosion. Fly ash erosion often occurs within the first 3-5 inches at the gas inlet of the tube up to the top tubesheet plate. CMS removes only the damaged section of tubing, replacing it with upgraded tubing and adding proprietary parts to protect the new tube.
Benefits of Erosion Repairs:
Example of a CMS erosion upgrade repair
External Corrosion Guards: Safeguard Your Equipment Against Water Damage
CMS’s external corrosion guards are designed to provide an extra measure of protection against standing water damage to your air heater tubes at the baffle and lower tubesheet level. External guards essentially double your tube wall thickness, extending the service life of your tubes in the area external corrosion damage from the water washing processes. Our external corrosion guards can be installed above the bottom of tubesheet plate or above each the baffle level, depending on customer requirements. This small but important feature delivers big benefits, including:
Benefits of External Corrosion Guards:
Contact CMS Today to Optimize Your Air Heater Performance
Contact us at (800) 637 6592 or inforeq@cmsinc.us and find out how your tubular air preheater might be causing problems throughout your operation. Our team of experts can quickly assist in diagnosing your air heater and gas path problem, show you how we can improve air heater efficiency, and even provide emergency repair when you need it most. Our mobile service teams are often able to inspect your equipment and offer field repair of an air preheater on the spot.
Whether you are looking for a quick fix to bridge the gap between outages/maintenance intervals or a more permanent solution, turn to Corrosion Monitoring Services to solve your problems before they turn into performance issues.
Air-to-Air Heat Exchanger Inspection and Maintenance
Corrosion Monitoring Services (CMS) provides air-to-air heat exchanger inspection and maintenance services designed to optimize the performance and longevity of your equipment. Whether you're dealing with corrosion, fouling, or efficiency loss, our mobile teams are available to help ensure your heat exchangers operate efficiently.
Why Regular Heat Exchanger Inspections Matter
Air-to-air heat exchangers play a critical role in energy efficiency within industrial processes. Over time, the health of these systems can be compromised due corrosion, fouling, and mechanical wear, leading to decreased performance, higher energy costs, and, sometimes, even catastrophic failures and downtime. Regular heat exchanger inspections can help identify issues early on, preventing costly repairs or replacements and ensuring your system operates at its best.
Comprehensive Inspection Services
CMS’s air-to-air heat exchanger inspection services are thorough and designed to detect even the smallest issues that could affect your system's performance.
Expert Heat Exchanger Repairs
When issues are detected, the Corrosion Monitoring Services team of skilled technicians is equipped to perform air-to-air heat exchanger repairs quickly and efficiently. We use high-quality materials and the latest repair techniques to ensure that your equipment is restored to its best possible condition.
Customized Maintenance Plans
At Corrosion Monitoring Services, we understand that every industrial process is unique. That’s why we offer customized maintenance plans tailored to meet your specific needs. Our plans include regular inspections and repair services to keep your air-to-air heat exchangers running smoothly.
Contact Us Today
Don’t let your air-to-air heat exchangers become a liability. To learn more about our inspection and repair services and how we can help you maintain the efficiency and reliability of your equipment, contact CMS at (800) 637 6592 or inforeq@cmsinc.us today.
Condenser Inspection and Repair Services
Corrosion Monitoring Services (CMS) specializes in condenser inspection and repair for industries such as pulp and paper, cement, and other plants where erosion and corrosion can compromise operating efficiency. We begin with a comprehensive visual inspection, carefully documenting any damage to ensure accurate assessment and repair.
Common Condenser Damage: Causes and Solutions
Our inspections sometimes reveal damage types to condensers, such as stress corrosion cracking, pitting, and roll joint failures. These issues may result from factors like vibration, cooling water contamination, and biofouling pressure washing in heat exchanger tubes. If left unchecked, these problems can spread to downstream equipment like boilers, causing inefficiencies and potentially leading to unplanned shutdowns.
Advanced Tools for Condenser Inspection
Preventative Repairs to Extend Condenser Lifespan
Early detection and repair are critical to avoiding costly retubing or condenser replacement. CMS often salvages failed roll joints through re-rolling with a torque control box and rolling head, utilizing our proprietary processes. In some instances, sleeving failures can return failed tubes to service. For extensively damaged tubes, mechanical tube plugging can be employed to take them out of service, thus improving operating efficiency and preventing future issues.
Comprehensive Condenser Repair Services
Our full range of condenser repair services includes:
Detailed Post-Project Analysis and Documentation
Upon completing your project, CMS will conduct an analysis of collected data to identify potential failure mechanisms and to develop targeted, minimally invasive repair strategies. Our commitment to detailed record-keeping includes providing comprehensive tubesheet maps, which offer a concise maintenance history and track year-over-year condition changes, helping you optimize your maintenance strategies.
Commitment to Quality and Customer Satisfaction
At Corrosion Monitoring Services, we measure success by the satisfaction of our customers. Our goal is to maximize the service life of your heat exchangers with flexible, customized field service solutions. For more information or to request a quote, contact us at (800) 637-6592 or email inforeq@cmsinc.us.
CMS Evaporator Inspection Services
CMS has over 30 years of experience inspecting and repairing heat exchangers in wide variety of industrial operations, including plants in the Pulp & Paper Industry. CMS’ expertise includes process analysis, inspections and customized repair of heat exchangers that can be a valuable cost effective component of your maintenance strategy.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for the Paper Industry to maintain profitable and competitive operating margins due to environmental and energy demands. Recognizing and identifying the existing operating conditions and the appropriate maintenance techniques are critical steps in any effort to minimize energy consumption and maximize quality production.
One difficult area to assess in evaporators is the external corrosion damage that can occur near the top from trapped non-condensable gasses, or other corrosion elements near the bottom of the evaporator. This issue may be overcome through the application of the proper test equipment to evaluate the total wall thickness.
Figure 2 - Black Liquor Evaporators are often arranged as Multiple Effect Evaporator (MEE) Systems. Weak black liquor enters in the last stage, and the steam enters in the first stage. As the Black Liquor flows through the system, water is removed by evaporation to drive the next evaporator stage. The solids content of the liquor is increased through each stage. Each evaporator effect stage is a separate heat exchanger that operates at increasing vacuum as the stages progress.
The most popular configuration for these MEE heat exchangers is the shell in tube configuration.
A regularly scheduled inspection routine can:
CMS Evaporator Repair Services
A number of repair solutions can be applied based on the findings of CMS Inspectors and the client's input. CMS will work with site representatives to provide the data and options for development of the best approach for repairs. The repair process in most cases will have different options based on site objectives.
Whether you are looking for a quick fix to bridge the gap between outages/maintenance intervals or a more permanent solution, turn to Corrosion Monitoring Services to solve your problems before they turn into performance issues.
As the inspection process is completed, a tube sheet map is generated to document the findings.
There are several primary repair solutions:
Sleeves
Locating damaged areas that have not yet failed is critical to determining the right repair approach. If the tube damage is located near the tube sheet, CMS may be able to install a sleeve on the inner diameter of the tube to capture the tube failure or crack. This process places a liner section of tube inside a fully cleaned parent tube.
The sleeve has a 360° seal towards the bottom of the liner tube and is then rolled into the tube sheet plate. Depending on inspection results, this process is often recommended to be applied proactively to increase the service life of evaporator tubes. In some cases, where a tube has severed completely from a tube sheet plate, CMS can install a sleeve and return these tubes to service. Installing tube sleeves is ideal for repairing damaged tubes and extending the service life of evaporator tubes. A critical step when installing partial or full length sleeves is that the parent tube must be clean to establish metal to metal contact for sealing and for heat transfer.
Plugs
While plugging evaporator tubes is often seen as the simplest solution, it should be evaluated for overall thermal performance based on the number of tubes out of service. Once a tube is plugged, it no longer adds to the evaporator performance, the total surface area is reduced and pressure drop across the bundle will increase if enough tubes are taken out of service.
CMS has been able to remove plugs and repair the damage and return these tubes to service. This cost effective repair method can restore significant operational gains and extend the service life.
Full Tube Replacement
As a complete repair option, tubes can be replaced or full length liners installed.
For more information on how CMS can evaluate and repair your evaporator damage, ask to speak to one of our engineers at (800) 637-6592 or contact us at inforeq@cmsinc.us Our proprietary tools and analyses techniques can help you avoid unexpected downtime and expenses.
Evaporator Inspection and Maintenance
Evaporators are vital in numerous industrial processes, playing a crucial role in concentrating solutions and removing solvents through evaporation. To maintain these systems' efficiency and reliability, it's important to schedule regular inspections and perform timely repairs when necessary. Corrosion Monitoring Services' (CMS) evaporator inspection and repair services are designed to ensure your industrial plants continue to operate smoothly and effectively.
The Importance of Evaporator Maintenance
Problems like scaling, fouling, corrosion, wear, and other damage mechanisms can have a negative hurt evaporator performance over time. Neglecting proper maintenance often leads to decreased efficiency, higher energy costs, and unexpected downtime. Regular inspections and prompt repairs are critical to maintaining acceptable performance, extending the life of your valuable equipment, and preventing costly emergency repairs.
Evaporators can experience a variety of issues that affect their performance and equipment life, including:
Evaporator Maintenance Solutions to Meet Your Unique Needs
CMS focuses on meeting the unique evaporator-related demands of the following industries:
CMS Evaporator Inspection Services
CMS provides comprehensive inspection services, using advanced techniques to identify potential problems before they become much bigger issues. Our inspection services include:
CMS Evaporator Repair Services
When issues are detected, our experienced mobile teams provide effective repair solutions to restore your evaporators to operating condition. Our repair services include:
- Corrosion and Erosion Repair: Our mobile team address damage from corrosive environments and abrasive materials to maintain structural integrity and prevent leaks.
- Tube and Component Repair: We can repair damaged or worn components to help improve heat transfer and system efficiency.
- Welding and Fabrication: Our field services include custom welding and fabrication to repair damaged sections of the evaporator.
Black Liquor Evaporator
Evaporator performance can be negatively impacted by various mechanisms such as fouling, surface corrosion, stress from thermal cycling, or tube damage from vibration.
Leaking evaporator tubes allow cross contamination. In order to minimize this impact, a simple temporary solution is to plug both ends of the tube and remove it from service.
The number of tubes removed from service effectively reduces the thermal capacity of the heat exchanger. When reduced efficiency is detected in one or more of the evaporators, the overall system performance is impacted, resulting in one or both of the following outcomes:
Figure 1 - A typical position of black liquor evaporators in the overall process. Black Liquor Evaporators take Weak Black Liquor (typically 15% solids) and condense to 70-80% solids based on evaporator design. This process provides Heavy Black Liquor as fuel to the Recovery Boiler. Black Liquor Evaporators also reduce the waste water stream by recycling it to the process.
Because the recovery process is critical to the efficient operation of the overall system, proactive maintenance is a requirement.
If the quality or quantity of Heavy Black Liquor production is reduced, then the boiler may not have sufficient fuel to maintain steam production without a supplemental fuel source. Additionally, the production of White Liquor to the digester will either be reduced or made up with consumption of additional chemicals. When evaporator steam consumption is increased, the overall system steam availability is reduced. This reduction in performance may impact power generation, if the facility produces power, and reduce steam to other processes.
Visual Inspections
Often, a visual inspection is the first step in identifying damaged tubes. This is performed from the top and bottom tube sheets. Using an external light or other equipment, the inside walls of the tube can be inspected over about the first 18 inches of the tube.
This inspection technique is sufficient at times, since damage is predominantly near the tube sheet interface. As damaged tubes are identified, these tubes may require no further inspection at this point.
Repair Ready
Where failures are identified within 12 inches of the tubesheet, CMS inspectors can install airtight sleeves to capture the failure behind the sleeve and keep the tube in service. In other cases, the tube can be removed from service by installing mechanical plugs.
Using an external light or other equipment, the inside walls of the tube can be inspected over about the first 18 inches of the tube. Some tubes can be identified as damaged from visual inspection.
Both methods are a quick way to temporarily improve efficiency and can add up to measurable energy cost savings, while allowing time to plan for a more permanent solution.
As with all CMS inspections, a detailed report is provided that includes a tubesheet map, documenting damaged tubes as well as any necessary repairs.
Pressure Testing
Once the visual inspection is complete, a pressure test can be performed. This is conducted by having access to both the top and bottom tube sheets. A pressurized airline is placed at one tube end. A pressure indication allows the inspector to detect the presence of a leak. Anything less than a specified pressure is considered a tube failure.
During this test, a CMS inspector pressurizes each tube and records any drop in tube pressure and the associated time. The speed of the pressure change is an indication of severity of the air leakage. If a leak is detected, it may be possible to pinpoint the location by using the more advanced Acoustic Pulse Reflectometry Inspection System (APRIS) tube test to determine the location and damage mechanism (hole, crack, or obstruction). Knowing the location of the leak may provide a clue in determination of the failure mechanism and provide guidance in the repair technique selection.
Repair Ready
Where failures are identified within 12 inches of the tubesheet, CMS inspectors can install airtight sleeves to capture the failure behind the sleeve and keep the tube in service. In other cases, the tube can be removed from service by installing mechanical plugs. Both methods are a quick way to temporarily improve efficiency and can add up to measurable energy cost savings, while allowing time to plan for a more permanent solution.
As with all CMS inspections, a detailed report is provided that includes a tubesheet map, documenting damaged tubes as well as any necessary repairs.
APRIS Inspections
Using portable acoustic pulse reflectometry equipment (APRIS), CMS inspectors direct one-dimensional acoustic waves at tubular systems to detect defects in along the contours of the tube inner diameter.
If the pulse encounters a discontinuity in cross section, a reflection is created. The shape of the reflection enables inspectors to define the damage mechanism, which they then verify using a borescope. CMS APRIS inspections are able to accurately identify the exact location, type, and size of tube defects, without impacting outage schedules.
Acoustic Pulse Reflectometry - APR
Our APRIS inspection reports are translated into a tubesheet map that indicates the pattern of damage detected. In addition to the tubesheet map, sample plots from the APRIS are provided to illustrate the information used. The combination of this information enables the customer to plan tube repairs and replacements for improved operational efficiency and cost savings. For more information on Acoustic Pulse Reflectometry technology, you can visit the Talcyon APRIS website.
Why Choose CMS for Evaporator Services?
With many years of experience working in cement, energy, industrial, and pulp and paper plants, the Corrosion Monitoring Services team is equipped with the expertise and tools necessary to handle all of your evaporator inspection and maintenance needs. We pride ourselves in delivering quality services that meet the stringent demands of industrial operations. Our commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction (see our case studies for testimonials) often makes us the preferred choice for many leading industrial plants.
Contact Us for Better Performance
Ensure that your evaporators are operating efficiently with our comprehensive inspection and repair services and plans. Contact us today at (800) 637 6592 or via email at inforeq@cmsinc.us to schedule an inspection or to learn more about how we can help you maintain your heat recovery systems.