Is downtime for PHE testing impacting production? You need Gappscan™.

What is so special about Gappscan™?

Gappscan allows you to conduct integrity testing of plate heat exchangers without the need to dismantle the equipment, minimising production downtime.

Gappscan enables integrity testing of plate heat exchangers without the need to use chemical dyes, instead using the power of water.

The Gappscan™ is a compact unit that can be operated by a single person, only using the power of water, meaning there is no need for using harmful chemicals or dyes. So, it is safer for the user, products, and the environment. Additionally, production downtime is minimal for the business because the Gappscan tests don’t require PHE equipment to be dismantled.

While there are other types of traditional test procedures such as dye penetrants, chemicals, and gas available, these methods have some serious disadvantages. As invasive test practices, these methods require the PHEs to be taken apart and then deep cleansed after tests; this can mean an exchanger being out of service for as much as 48 hours, just for one test. Additionally, there is an environmental impact consideration with the disposal of the test substances, the dye or gas used needs to be disposed of correctly and needs to be thoroughly cleaned from the heat exchangers before they can enter back into the production process. Test sensitivities can also reduce with volume and therefore become less reliable when testing large plate heat exchangers. These testing methods can only pass or fail a heat exchanger, they cannot determine the size of the defect or the leakage rate, making them of less use for preventative maintenance programmes.

Benefits offered by the Gappscan™

  • Minimal downtime and easy to use
  • Gappscan finds cracks and surface imperfections as small as 5μm
  • Works on all types and sizes of PHE with no dismantling of equipment needed
  • Environmentally friendly - no dyes or gases used
  • Ability to track changes over time - test results are saved

There are considerable benefits of using a Gappscan™ in production facilities, not least because it is sensitive enough to identify and report cracks and defects as small as a few microns in diameter, but it also makes the results available immediately. Test results are uploaded and saved to a secure server which can aid audit/compliance requirements as well as allowing tracking of the integrity of individual PHEs improving the effectiveness of preventative maintenance programmes. The ability to increase the speed and potentially the frequency of PHE testing is made possible because the Gappscan™ only uses water and doesn’t require PHEs to be dismantled, drastically reducing testing times.

Contact us to discover more or visit: www.eit-international.com.