The acoustic emission technique applied to the monitoring and evaluation of chemical storage tanks (APQ).

As well as the innovation achieved with the inspection of LPG storage in fixed tanks in accordance with RD 919/2006, Eurocontrol is a pioneer in Spain in the use of the acoustic emission technique to monitor and evaluate metal and GRP tanks that store chemical products, regulated by the ITC MIE APQ-01, 06 and 07 of RD 656/2017.

What are the advantages of acoustic emission?

The main advantage of the technique lies in the fact that it allows the evaluation of the tightness and interior state to be carried out with the tank full of product and in conditions of use, which implies an increase in safety conditions for people and the environment and a saving in cost and time for the client, compared to traditional tests and trials.

The acoustic emission monitors the entire structure of the tank at once, evaluating the presence of possible active imperfections, their evolution and location.

What is an acoustic emission test?

The capacity of all materials to produce and propagate sources of acoustic emission through their structure produced by the evolution of any type of defect (corrosions, cracks, etc.), means that the strategic placement of piezoelectric sensors along the tested structure allows the signals received to be monitored, recorded and analysed/evaluated in real time and, therefore, their criticality.

The results obtained through acoustic emission provide the necessary information to globally evaluate the state of conservation of the interior and exterior surface of the tested equipment and provide a more precise qualitative analysis, which allows not only the identification of the defects, but also their location on the structure. After locating the defects, other non-destructive testing techniques can be used to dimension the defect identified (ultrasound, penetrant liquids, etc.).

At Eurocontrol we have more than ten years of experience in acoustic emission and we are the first laboratory accredited by ENAC to apply it in Spain.