On-line monitoring of plant integrity by thin-layer activation

A problem frequently encountered within a wide span of industries is to establish the lifetime of plant components under various mechanisms of surface loss, for example mechanical wear in bearings, and erosion or corrosion in pipes carrying process streams. Without accurate prediction of component life, costly unscheduled down time results. Without accurate surface loss measurement prediction is unreliable. Thin Layer Activation (TLA), extensively developed at Harwell, provides an accurate and sensitive method of quantifying loss of material from surfaces by any mechanism, in situ, and is appropriate for widespread application as a plant condition monitor. (author)