On-stream refractory measurement

Precise assessment of refractory condition can avoid unwelcome discoveries

during unit turnarounds

Dave Ferguson and Carl Tipton Tracerco

E
very refinery invests a tremendous amount area of refractory that is only one or two inches
of time and money in planning a unit turn- thick, when it should typically be four inches, will
around. The scheduling of the tasks, man- require remediation during a maintenance shut-
power, and equipment have to be detailed and down, once discovered.
thorough. To do this, knowledge is needed about In order to allow the accurate measurement
the process system in order that critical tasks of refractory thickness before shutting down
can be planned to meet turnaround time con- a vessel, Tracerco has carried out an exten-
straints. Some of this condition based informa- sive research project culminating in the design
tion is gathered using tools such as gamma scans, and construction of a new inspection tool. The
radiography, ultrasonic probes, vibration moni- portable equipment, named InDepth, is able to
tors, acoustic sensors, and other non-destructive measure the depth of refractory inside the exter-
techniques whilst the process is still operating. nal wall of a vessel or pipe whilst the system is
Internal damage to distillation columns, heat operational.
exchangers, reactors, and other vessels has to
be known to avoid surprises that can disrupt the Research
turnaround schedule. Since each day of down- Tracerco’s R&D team of physicists and engineers
time is a day of lost production, it is very impor- carried out an extensive technical review includ-
tant that a turnaround is not extended due to ing many laboratory trials and computer sim-
unexpected repair work. ulations to determine the technology platform
In 2014, Tracerco was approached by repre- of most interest. The research led to an adapta-
sentatives of a major oil company that operates tion of the gamma scanning science for which
multiple sites with fluidised catalytic cracking Tracerco is known.
(FCC) units. These units typ-
ically have a major turna-
round every five years. One of 800
FCC refractory
the tools used to gather infor-
700 Ceramic tile
mation about the condition of
internal refractory linings of the
600
FCC vessels is a thermal imag-
Response

ing camera. This device identi-

500
fies locations on the surface of
the vessels that are hotter than
400
they should be, indicating that
the refractory inside has been 300
eroded or damaged in some
way. Unfortunately, one inch of 200
refractory remaining attached to 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
the vessel wall is often enough Inches of refractory
to stop the heat, yielding a nor-
mal thermal scan. However, an Figure 1 Results of lab experiments

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 A process vessel was simu- Prototype testing
lated using steel plates with A prototype was built and tested
a thickness similar to that of on three field trials to establish if
a typical process vessel, and it produced the required results
ceramic sheets to mimic var- in the very hot conditions expe-
ious thicknesses of refrac- rienced in a typical FCC unit, and
tory. Results demonstrated to determine the best deployment
that the technology was approach. Figure 2 shows an art-
capable of accurately meas- ist’s concept of how it would be
uring the ceramic layer thick- deployed.
ness located behind the steel. The first test of the prototype
Further tests were then car- was on a piece of equipment from
ried out using various thick- a refinery where Tracerco had
nesses of refractory provided previously performed a num-
by the oil company interested ber of tomography scans (using
in the technology. ThruVision) on the FCC riser to
Figure 1 shows a typi- monitor the build-up of coke just
cal response with varying above the feed nozzles. During a
amounts of ceramic sheet and turnaround in 2013, a 2.5m long
refractory. The data demon- section of the riser was removed
strated that there was only a Figure 2 Artist’s concept of InDepth from just below the feed nozzles.
small change in response for Refractory Tool This piece was given to Tracerco
ceramic or refractory thick- to further our research. The
ness of one inch or less. However, between InDepth prototype was tested on this section of
1in and 3.5in there was a significant change in riser where results could be compared to visual
response, allowing accurate measurements to be inspection.
made. As in the case of thicknesses less than 1in, The riser was originally commissioned with 2in
between 3.5in and 5in of refractory, the change of refractory. It was observed that, over the life
in response was small, demonstrating that of the run, some of the residual feed and catalyst
below 1in and above 3.5in refractory thickness had attached to the walls and formed a layer of
depth accuracy was reduced. The research team coke and catalyst between 1in to 6in in thickness.
believes that experience in field work will allow Trials of the InDepth prototype on this section of
us to improve the accuracy in these two areas of riser showed the presence of the refractory with
thickness. a layer of approximately 2in. In addition, it was
also established that instrument
5.0 response could differentiate
and measure the depth of coke
Refractory remaining, inches

4.5
up to around 2in when knowl-
4.0
edge of coke density was fac-
3.5 tored into the response, adding
External
3.0 interference another potentially important
2.5 measurement facet to InDepth’s
2.0 capability.
The prototype was then taken
1.5
to the operating FCC unit from
1.0
which the riser section had
0.5 been removed and replaced.
0 The prototype was tested on
0 50 100 150 200 250 the operating FCC regenerator
Distance from end of riser, cm and riser. On the positive side,
the prototype was found to be
Figure 3 Data from riser in laydown yard of Refinery 2 yielding results that were con-

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sistent with the expected thick-
nesses of refractory. On the 4.0

Refractory remaining, inches

negative side, it was discovered 3.5
that the tool was overheating
3.0
due to vessel radiant heat and
a better approach to protect it 2.5
from the heat was required. It
2.0
was also determined that the
winch system was somewhat 1.5 External
cumbersome. 1.0
interference

The necessary modifications

0.5
were made to the prototype to
better protect it from the heat 0
and the winch system improved. 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
New trials were scheduled at two Distance from end of riser, cm
other refineries.
Refineries 2 and 3 each had a Figure 4 Data from riser in laydown yard of Refinery 3
decommissioned riser in the lay-
down yard from recent turna-
rounds. Most of the refractory in 5.0
Refractory remaining, inches

the decommissioned riser from 4.5

refinery 2 was still present (see
4.0
Figure 3).
3.5
In Refinery 3’s decommis-
sioned riser, there were places 3.0
where the refractory had fallen 2.5
completely away from the steel 2.0
wall. Other places had various 1.5
thicknesses of refractory still
1.0
attached. Results of InDepth
measurements that matched the 0.5
actual thicknesses of the refrac- 0
tory in the old riser are shown in 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Figure 4. Elevation above support, m
At Refinery 3, one line of data
was collected on the new riser Figure 5 Data from operating riser in Refinery 3
that had been operating for
about six months. There was no
expectation of damage to this
refractory and it was expected to
be 4in thick. The data collected
indicated that there was 3.75-
4in of refractory in the operat-
ing riser (see Figure 5). Since it
was assumed that the contrac-
tor had installed the refractory Figure 6 The Tracerco InDepth tool (Operates in vertical mode.)
to the specification required
and inspectors had verified a proper installation, InDepth
results from the InDepth tool were less an indi- Collating all of the learning gained during field
cation of damage to the refractory since start-up testing of the prototype, a final design was agreed
but more an indication of tool measurement for the InDepth tool and the winch from which it
accuracy of +/-0.25in. operates (see Figure 6).

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 The tool’s measurement capability is availa-
ble for use on refractory lined vessels. The two
site requirements needed to use the tool include
an electrical supply available to power the
winch and a permanent or temporary platform
directly above the side of the vessel or pipe to be
investigated.
A typical inspection survey for a whole vessel,
such as an FCC regenerator or reactor, is to run
a vertical scan from the top to the bottom of the
vessel at the north position with readings taken
at 3ft (1m) vertical intervals. Once completed, the
tool is repositioned 3ft (1m) around the circum-
ference in a clockwise direction and the vertical
measurements repeated until the whole vessel
has been measured. The circumference of the
vessel will determine the number of scan lines.
The domed top of a vessel can also be scanned,
assuming there is a platform on top. The vertical
sections of the stripper, the riser and the stand-
pipes can also be scanned. For the sloped sec-
tions of a riser or standpipe, the top and the two
upper 45 degree positions can be scanned.
The InDepth tool can also be used to accurately
define the size of a known area of thin refractory.
Thermography may indicate to a maintenance
engineer that a hot spot exists. However, it can-
not indicate whether the hot spot has occurred
because of a small, deep loss of refractory or
loss in a large area where only a small spot has
lost enough refractory to allow heat penetration
to the wall. In this area, a grid pattern of 1.5ft
(0.5m) or smaller can better define the refractory
loss problem.
As a result of this successful research effort, a
novel adaptation of gamma scanning science has
4 Revamps 2015
been developed to measure refractory thickness
behind steel walls and a patent application has
been filed.
Conclusion
The InDepth tool provides detailed online inspec-
tion data to turnaround planners who have
refractory lined process vessels and pipes. This
data allows the preparation of better turna-
round schedules, reducing wasteful allocation of
resources and materials in those areas where no
problems are indicated, whilst avoiding surprises
in other areas where refractory loss may have
unexpectedly occurred. Hence, pre-turnaround
preparations can be optimised, avoiding the risk
of undesirable extension to the planned outage.
Dave Ferguson is the Process Diagnostics Business Development
Manager – UK & Rest of World with Tracerco, Billingham, England.
He has 33 years of experience providing process investigation
services to the oil, gas, refining, and chemical industries, and
graduated from Texas A&M University with a BSc in chemical
engineering.
Carl Tipton is a Development Physicist with Tracerco in Billingham,
England. He graduated from the University of Manchester,
England, with BSc (Hons) in physics and theoretical physics.
LINKS
More articles from: Tracerco
More articles from the following categories:
Fluid Catalytic Cracking
Instrumentation, Automation and Process Control
Laboratory, R&D and Quality Control
Reliability and Asset Management
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