This paper, Predictive Maintenance of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic Equipment, was presented at the Sulphur 2014 30th International Conference & Exhibition.
Geoffrey E. Clarkson
UTComp Inc.
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
For steel, stainless steel and titanium process equipment, reliable and valid methods are used to monitor the effects of corrosion and damage in order to determine maintenance and replacement needs. This paper describes a non-destructive technology for evaluating fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) equipment to achieve the same results, usually while the facility is operating and without confined space entry. The results can allow the maintenance team to predict maintenance needs and the remaining service life of equipment. The method
has been shown to be reliable and valid. Case studies are presented to show how the technology has been used on FRP in sulphur dioxide gas cleaning and weak sulphuric acid service.