Due to the insulating effect that scale and soot have on a boiler tube, means that the tube-wall temperature can get so hot that the tube itself weakens and can rupture. It goes without saying that more fuel must be used to produce the same amount of heat transfer which increases cost and reduces system reliability and longevity.

Not All Cleaning Methods Are Equal

To determine the most effective approach to remove fouling, every facility needs to look at the type of scale occurring in their boiler. Laser ablation is by far the best solution here in Western Australia. Manual cleaning blends defects and removes material from the substrate whereas lasers do not. Laser removes the soot and scale from the tube walls and ablates corrosion residue from within the crevices of defects. Laser ablation is designed to decontaminate and restore substrates and that facilitates improved NDT detection of failure mechanisms that can lead to catastrophic failure.