Tank inspection & leak detection - The increasingly sophisticated technologies for in-service and out of service inspections, and detecting tank leakage...

I f you ask anybody involved in tank inspection - from the technology manufacturers and service providers to consultants and the tank owners themselves - what the most significant development has been in the inspection and leak detection market in the past five years, you'll get a different answer every time.

Method suitability varies widely according to an individual tank's age, history and current product usage and turnover. It also varies from operator to operator, depending on country of operation and the regulatory situation, tank location, number of tanks and commercial position at any given time.

Favoured conventional methods in the field of non-destructive testing (NDT) remain acoustic emissions, ultrasonic testing (UT), floor scanners and magnetic flux technology (MFT).

Worldwide, tank owners are increasingly being required to inspect their tanks based on API 653 but many are also subject to local or national regulations that are sometimes more prescriptive, such as in Sweden.

Most operators aim to match inspection method, reliability and costs with the level of risk or likelihood of a tank problem and industry standards.

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