Sonomatic Power Generation Division, employs seasoned professionals with combined decades of experience in advanced turbine/generator NDE. We offer a full range of automated and manual techniques to interrogate the integrity of your turbines and generators; with many of our inspections being used to support engineering remaining life assessments. In addition to our ‘standard’ offerings, such as boresonics, wheel-sonics, blade attachments, generator rotor retaining rings, etc. we also have developed unique, proprietary inspection techniques for specific applications, such as curved axial-entry last stage blade roots on specific OEM blade variants. We also work on all OEM rotors.
Power Generation
We work closely with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) by assisting them on various R&D projects specific to turbine & generator NDE; EPRI has also provided independent third-party evaluations on some of our inspection techniques.
Sonomatic brings innovation, value and integrity to the power generation NDE industry. We provide high-end, high-value inspection solutions at reasonable rates. We do so by capitalizing on technology, thoughtful kit design, and efficient work practices. Our motto is ‘Cut Costs, not Quality’.
Specialist NDE Services
Boresonic Examinations
In-service turbine rotors can often suffer from cracking due to wear. The consequences of failure associated with this are significant, making regular integrity inspections essential. For more than a decade, Sonomatic has been providing fully automated hollow rotor bore examination services to customers worldwide. Our Boresonic systems reliably and accurately detect and size both near and far – surface fatigue cracks in hollow turbine and generator rotors.
Solid Rotor Examinations
Ensuring a full volumetric inspection of solid (non-bored) turbine rotors can be challenging. Sonomatic has developed protocols and an assortment of automated and manual ultrasonic techniques to maximize volumetric coverage for the detection and evaluation of axial and circumferential indications from all available external surfaces of solid turbine rotors.
Generator Rotor Wedge-Lands (TIL 1292)
Large GE steam turbine generators and 324 generator rotors with diagonal flow cooling are prone to cracking in the rotor tooth dove-tail area due to fretting. Sonomatic has developed reliable eddy current and ultrasonic techniques for inspecting the tooth dovetail regions, with the wedge bars in-place or removed.
Civa Inspection Modelling
Understanding ultrasonic responses in complex geometries can be difficult without aid from a modelling software. Sonomatic employs experienced CIVA operators who regularly model these challenging components. These models can be used ahead of an inspection to assist with scan-plan development, and afterward, to help characterize suspect responses following an inspection.
Turbine Disk Inspection (TIL 1904)
Turbine disk bores are prone to radial-circumferential cracking at the disk-bore to shaft interface, and fatigue cracking at the keyways. Sonomatic uses an assortment of automated phased array techniques utilizing our proprietary turbine disk scanner. One hundred percent coverage of the desired areas is often achievable.
Generator Retaining Ring Examinations
Generator retaining rings are among the highest stressed components of the rotor. Depending on the material properties and environmental conditions, stress corrosion cracking, pitting and arcing are all potential concerns. Sonomatic’s automated and manual inspection techniques can be performed with the rings’ on, or off the rotor. The specific techniques used are application dependent, and include Pulse Echo UT, ToFD, Phased Array UT, Creep Waves and Eddy Current. 18Mn/5Cr and 18Mn/18Cr rings are commonly inspected, other material property rings are less common, but encountered on occasion.
Disk Dovetail Blade Attachments
Disk-rim blade attachments and blade roots are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking due to high cycle fatigue inherent with geometry, operation, and steam cycle chemistry. Sonomatic has developed an assortment of automated phased array techniques for inspecting dovetails in a range of applications: disk dovetails (tangential-entry and axial-entry) blade dovetails (tangential-entry, axial-entry, T-root and others) and curved axial-entry blade roots.
Blade Inspections
Sonomatic routinely inspects highly stressed components, such as rotating and stationary turbine blading and generator retaining rings (surface inspection) using a combination of visual, high-sensitivity liquid penetrant and/or eddy current array inspection techniques.
Conventional Turbine/Generator NDE Services
One-Stop Shopping: Combine Specialist and Conventional NDE services. You manage the outage, we’ll manage the NDE. For more information, download our One-Stop Shopping brochure featured at the bottom of this page.
Our conventional turbine/generator NDE services include:
- Rotor Periphery NDE
- Stationary Blading
- Valve Components & Gasings
- Bearings
- Turbine Casings
- Finger Dovetails/Pins
- Studs/Bolts
Piping and Boiler NDE Services
Our piping and boiler NDE Services include:
- High Energy Piping: Girth and Seam Welds
- Header Examinations: Girth and Seam Welds
- Tubing Corrosion
- Header Ligament Examinations
- Stub Tube Socket Weld Examinations
- Tubing Scale Oxide Measurements
- UT in lieu of RT (Code Examinations)
- Dissimilar Metal Welds
- Carbon Fiber and Glass Fiber Repair Inspection
SonoCAM - Compound Aperture Multiplexing Technique
SonoCAM is a unique, automated phased array technique that combines a pulse-echo phased array, with a distinctive pitch-catch technique for far-superior detection of radial-axial indications on wheel-like components.
Ideally suited detection technique for shrunk-on disk-bore/keyways & radial-axial cracking on blade attachments. The technique also improves data collection speeds, boasting up to 50% faster data acquisition by multiplexing than from single-channel scanning.
Detection Technique:
Early detection of flaws is critical, placing greater emphasis on improved flaw detection capabilities. The SonoCAM detection technique is singularly unique in that it has the remarkable ability to exaggerate true reflectors while greatly reducing unwanted background noise.
Multiplexing:
'Multiplexing' is in reference to how the data is acquired. Three independent channels are collected, all three channels collect data concurrently, during a single wheel rotation. This is accomplished by multiplexing through each channel rapidly with only one channel transmitting and receiving at any given moment.
