What needs to be examined during an external inspection of your vessel?

External inspection refers to the examination of all exterior parts of the vessel, including the shell, jacket, lifting lugs and supports.

The following areas should be closely looked at during this step in the inspection process:

Shell and Jacket

• Areas around welds and bolting
• Nozzles and crevices (e.g. between back-up flange and underside of nozzle stub)
• Nozzle sealing surfaces (gasket leakage can lead to corrosion)
• Gasketed joints
• Insulation and coating system
• Uninsulated areas

Inside Jacket

• Impingement plates of all jacket nozzles
• Steel surface (can be examined via inspection ports)
• Bottom jacket clean-out port (checking for accumulated sludge)

Lifting Lugs and Supports

• Welds

Additionally a jacket thickness test can be performed using an ultrasonic thickness gauge. It is important to measure in the same locations during each inspection in order to accurately note any changes to the metal thickness.