The main functions that this department carries out are aimed to support the stages of operation, maintenance as well as the inspection of equipments in different type of industrial plants like: hydro, thermo electrical and nuclear power generating plants, chemical plants, oil industry, iron and steel industries. Its main chores are to evaluate, diagnose and calculate the remaining useful life of materials submitted to severe operating conditions like high pressure and high temperatures.
This department has developed, in cooperation with other divisions and department, a System to Calculate the Remaining Useful Life of Steam Generators, Pressurized Recipients and Heavy Piping.
The On Site Inspection Department participates coordinates with productive areas in different thermo electrical power plants all over the Nation, giving technical support for the decision-making regarding the engineering of materials and its operational alternatives. Some of the main activities that are performed by this department are listed bellow, as well as the main objectives and goals that are expected to be met during an on site inspection carried out.
» Estimation of the operational situation of systems and equipments in industrial plants.
» Prevention of failures and cracks
» Determination of useful life time of equipments
» Maintenance scheduling
» Specialized studies which include:
• Mechanical fractures of materials studies.
• Characterization of discontinuities using ultrasonic spectroscopy.
• Measurement of discontinuities and material defects, applying special ultrasonic techniques such as ultrasonic diffraction.
• Mechanical integrity studies to determine the operational safety of pipelines, storage tanks and pressurized vessels with API 653, API 570 and API 510 certified inspectors.
• On site corrosion studies with the INCOTEST technique and ultrasonic guided probes.
• Studies to determine operation alternatives of steam generators and pressurized recipients, in accordance with the results obtained by diagnosis and calculation of remaining useful life.