TECH TIPS NEWSLETTER

This newsletter is dedicated to you, the reader with the goal of improving your ultrasonic inspection skills and enhancing your value to your company or clients. As always, we welcome your participation. If you have questions or seek advice about your inspection techniques or programs, or if you wish to share your experiences with others, please e-mail your contributions to us at info@uesystems.com.

Energy Conservation
As we are all aware, energy prices have risen dramatically over the past few months. We felt it at the pump and we are now being hit with higher fuel prices to heat our homes. Some projections are 30-50% hikes in oil and natural gas. The cost of energy will have an impact on every consumer, including industrial consumers. For many industrial consumers, this can have a negative impact on profits. When that happens, managers are often driven to look for ways to compensate for increased overhead expenses forced on them by energy consumption.

Here's good news. Ultrasound technology is ideally suited for helping industrial consumers reduce their energy usage.

Tech Tips Newsletter UE SOUND BITES . . . The Ultrasound Newsletter published by UE Systems, Inc. Information… Product News… Advice… Dialog Volume 6, Issue 6 November, 2005
T O P I C S Energy Conservation Ultraprobe Tip Comments & Contributions Ultrasound Training Schedule	This newsletter is dedicated to you, the reader with the goal of improving your ultrasonic inspection skills and enhancing your value to your company or clients. As always, we welcome your participation. If you have questions or seek advice about your inspection techniques or programs, or if you wish to share your experiences with others, please e-mail your contributions to us at info@uesystems.com. Energy Conservation As we are all aware, energy prices have risen dramatically over the past few months. We felt it at the pump and we are now being hit with higher fuel prices to heat our homes. Some projections are 30-50% hikes in oil and natural gas. The cost of energy will have an impact on every consumer, including industrial consumers. For many industrial consumers, this can have a negative impact on profits. When that happens, managers are often driven to look for ways to compensate for increased overhead expenses forced on them by energy consumption. Here's good news. Ultrasound technology is ideally suited for helping industrial consumers reduce their energy usage.
Historically, ultrasound technology made a giant leap into the minds of maintenance operations way back when we were hit by the infamous oil embargo. The lessons learned then can apply now and with new advances in the technology, can be adapted for even better results. Take a step back and look at the three main applications for ultrasonic inspection: leak detection, mechanical inspection, and electrical inspection. Generally these have been delegated to Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance activities. If we were to look closely at these applications, we will see great opportunities to not only reduce energy consumption, but to clearly demonstrate to management the value of your actions. Leak Detection: We've talked about compressed air and steam in previous newsletters. It costs money to produce compressed air. Steam isn't free either. Regarding energy loss, there are three basic areas of leak detection: pressurized gases, steam systems and air infiltration. 1. Compressed Gases: Any gas costs money either to purchase or to produce and use. Since Ultrasound instruments are sound sensitive, they are used to locate leaks in any type of pressurized gas system. As we've noted in past newsletters, compressed air is considered to be one of the most costly utilities in plants today. It is advisable to review all processes in a plant to identify opportunities for energy savings. In most plants, the first area of improvement will be compressed air. Savings from a compressed air survey can range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the facility and usage. 2. Steam Systems: It's not just steam traps. There are valves, pipes and fittings that can leak and waste energy. As with leak detection, Ultrasound instruments detect the sound of steam leaking through traps and valves and will also detect steam leaks around valve stems, joints and flanges. Users have reported thousands of dollars in savings locating steam leaks. How much you save depends on your facility and steam usage. It has been reported that Natural Gas production is down by 10% due to the hurricanes. This will result in a drop off of supply which could lead to an even greater rise in prices. The US Department of Energy is initiating a new program to help industry reduce energy use. The program is initially geared towards users in 200 of the country's most energy intensive factories. They are also trying to reach 50,000 additional plants to assist them in reducing energy. To learn more about the Save Energy Now program, visit their website: www.energy.gov/industry/saveenergynow 3. Air infiltration: Often air infiltration is detected using infrared imaging to view hot or cold spots. However, there are instances where conditions will make it difficult or impossible to locate a source. Using the ultrasonic tone generator can be useful in these situations. Place the tone generator on one side of a window, door or wall and scan on the other side for sonic penetration. A faulty seal will allow the sound to penetrate. Mechanical Inspection: According to the US Department of Energy, motor driven equipment accounts for 64% of electricity consumed by US Industries. Energy efficient motors can cut this by at least 12%. When equipment efficiency drops, there is more energy required to compensate. This is true for motors as it is for compressors, pumps or any other machinery. The goal is to keep equipment at as close to optimum efficiency as possible. This requires planned inspections with a variety of equipment. While it is true that not one technology can cover everything, ultrasound is an ideal tool for screening the condition of operating equipment. Incorporating ultrasound inspection into a mechanical condition monitoring program will speed up the inspection process and enable users to spot potential problems that can then be noted for additional action. For example, bearing condition monitoring, can identify faulty bearings as well as bearings in need of lubrication. When corrective action is implemented, it will help reduce energy wasting drag due to friction. The use of ultrasound to maintain mechanical efficiency will have a positive impact on energy usage.
Ultraprobe Tip: When checking steam traps, use both temperature and ultrasound. Temperature readings upstream and downstream can give you an indication of potential leakage in medium to high pressure systems. Also these differentials can provide information as to trap pressure. Low pressure systems are not as reliable to test using temperature alone. Ultrasound is a positive test in that users will hear the trap operation at all pressures. Use the contact probe upstream to bring your sensitivity levels into range and then test on the downstream side of the trap. If you have frequency tuning, try 25 kHz. This frequency makes it easier to listen to mechanical linkage, steam and condensate. Comments and Contributions: Ultrasound World II was a resounding success. A truly international experience with visitors from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America and North America, this conference was a true representation of the “best of the best”. Starting with the high level of information provided in the short courses and presentations to the participation and high level of interest of the attendees everyone walked away with more knowledge than they came with. Reviews of the conference survey from attendees indicate that this was one of the best of the year in terms of content and experience. We are now dedicating ourselves to make Ultrasound World III as great as this. A special thanks to all the presenters. The success of this conference was surely due to your efforts. Training Schedule: This year was so successful we have had a few sold-out classes and have been asked by some of you for one more course this year. In response to these requests, we have added one last class to the schedule. As this is your last opportunity for 2005, we strongly suggest that you register as soon as possible. Level I: December 12-16 Charleston, SC To register: email: info@uesystems.com or register on-line: http://www.uesystems.com/traing/fvdayreg1.html More articles will be posted periodically. Please check back. If you do not wish to continue to receive this newsletter, please let us know via email. Contact us at info@uesystems.com.

UE SOUND BITES . . . The Ultrasound Newsletter published by UE Systems, Inc.