Flare Inspection

[Rodny Gonzales]

I am preparing to fly a visual and thermal inspection on a flare stack, any advise or best practices that we could all discuss? I will be flying a Matrice 210 z30/ XT-AR in uncontrolled airspace.

 

[AH-1G]

I am preparing to fly a visual and thermal inspection on a flare stack, any advise or best practices that we could all discuss? I will be flying a Matrice 210 z30/ XT-AR in uncontrolled airspace.

@Outta Control seems to be very well rehearsed in the field of thermal

 

[BigAl07]

Outta Control seems to be very well rehearsed in the field of thermal

Hey @AH-1G if you'll put an @ in front of that members name it will alert them and they might be more likely to come view and reply to the thread.

Like this @Outta Control might be able to add some insight here.

 

[Outta Control]

Oh I got a message. Thx BA. LOL

I am preparing to fly a visual and thermal inspection on a flare stack, any advise or best practices that we could all discuss? I will be flying a Matrice 210 z30/ XT-AR in uncontrolled airspace.

I had to retrace out my initial response because after giving it a second look, there are a lot more requirement needed to be able to identify cracks and fissures. This where an experienced suas thermographer is beneficial.

Some of the things to consider are:

1) Range-To-Target distance for good focus to identify the fissures.
2) Time of Day
3) Ability to control the stack's operation
4) Do you have a VO
...and more

I can help you as much as I can so firstly what resolution and lens size do you have on that XT?

 

[Rodny Gonzales]

Thank you for the response. We have a 13 mm lens with 640 x 512 Resolution.
.

 

[Outta Control]

T

Thank you for the response. We have a 13 mm lens with 640 x 512 Resolution.
.

Thanks

I may already know the answer but I’ll ask anyways, y’all doing radiometric readings?

 

[Rodny Gonzales]

Yes sir, UT thickness and the visual inspection are the main requirements for the inspection. The XT will be flown for field testing.

 

[AH-1G]

Hey @AH-1G if you'll put an @ in front of that members name it will alert them and they might be more likely to come view and reply to the thread.

Like this @Outta Control might be able to add some insight here.

didn't know that. Thanks
@BigAI07

 

[Outta Control]

Yes sir, UT thickness and the visual inspection are the main requirements for the inspection. The XT will be flown for field testing.

Ok thank you.

That was not the answer I was hoping for so now the next question is the size in of your expected "measured field of view" of your target, ie 2x2 feet or 10x10?

This is fairly important because this will help allow the XT aka (FLIR TAU2) to calculate the absolute temperature, now this is only about a 1/3 of the process to get the true accurate measurement.

It is not that simple to go by the values the XT Pro App displays out. As FLIR has recognized, that this is what they have experienced with incorrect data values from their own field reports.

Again, I will try and help you as much as I can.

 

[Rodny Gonzales]

How would i determine that, by the individual sections of the flare or its overall size?

 

[Outta Control]

Sorry I have no knowledge about flare stacks so bare with me.

If I had to take a temp measurement of an object, how big is that object.

 

[Bobby A.]

Watch out for the guide wires.... they have taken out more UAVs than other factors combined....lol

 

[KLAX]

Best Practices for elevated Oil & Gas equipment: Flares~The Short List

• Let the piping and stack coating color guide your inspection. If you see rust or pitting on fuel gas piping, look closer for actual holes, drips, leaks.
• Fuel Gas Piping to all the pilot burners. Focus on all piping elbows.
• Wind Girders
• Tubing / instrument connections
• Refractory and top ring conditions: Have Operations close off on the snuffing steam for a minute or two to enable a quality image and thorough inspection. Hit it from all angles.
• Surface rust or discoloration along all vertical surfaces of the stack shell could indicate either a drip from above, or a loss of containment (hole through)
• Electrical conduit, wiring, connections, termination points (IR + visual inspection of connectors and conduit sealant)
• Brackets for lighting, antennas, cameras, etc. Nothing says headache like a loose hunk of metal 170ft in the air.

IR / Thermography:

• hot spots related to burners or fuel piping. Cycle through several color combo's if you can.
• Follow all IR advice from @Outta Control

 

[Outta Control]

...

• Follow all IR advice from @Outta Control

LOL I appreciate the shout out.

I wish I could offer more but I am a n00b at Flare inspection.

 

[Rodny Gonzales]

Awesome info,thanks guys! The short list is a great outline, the long list must be phenomenal! Do you like to fly orbital patterns or is it better to fly vertically between guy wire sections or a mix of both? Has anyone been able to map the z30 zoom controls to the buttons on the Cendence?

 

[KLAX]

Awesome info,thanks guys! The short list is a great outline, the long list must be phenomenal! Do you like to fly orbital patterns or is it better to fly vertically between guy wire sections or a mix of both? Has anyone been able to map the z30 zoom controls to the buttons on the Cendence?

For me, I'd recommend vertical slices. Sort of a North (bottom to top), South, East, West type of thing. The Flare tip is the business end, so once you're done with flare stack walls, coatings, piping, brackets/mounts, wind girders....you can circle and focus on inspection of the tip, refractory, burners, rings, etc.

End of the day, it doesn't really matter if you slice the inspection horizontally (circling), vertical passes (bottom to top). Just be aware of obstructions, wind, and have comms with the flare operator.

*note: Flare stack piping, conduit runs, etc. will typically run bottom to top and only be on one side of the flare. Not much to look at on the other three sides until you get toward the top except for surface rust or coating anomalies.

 

[benmike]

i am interested in some pilots in located in Ohio. Thanks.

They need the ability to zoom by at least 5x optically.

[email protected]

I am preparing to fly a visual and thermal inspection on a flare stack, any advise or best practices that we could all discuss? I will be flying a Matrice 210 z30/ XT-AR in uncontrolled airspace.