Power Generation plants use borescopes and videoscopes extensively to reduce maintenance and avoid unscheduled outages. During outages or prior to plant start up, remote visual inspection (RVI) is used used to inspect areas of the plant that are not accessible during operation. Some common applications for RVI include:
Steam and gas turbines are inspected with videoscopes to check the condition of compressor and guide vanes. Turbines are checked for foreign object damage (FOD), erosion, burning and cracking. Cobustion chambers are inspected for cracks, combustion deposits and burning. Turbine section nozzles and blades are checked for cracking, erosion, burning and blocked cooling holes.
Heat Exchangers need to be inspected to check the condition of cooling tubes. Cooling tubes are checked for scale deposits, corrosion and cracking.
Boilers are remotely inspected with long videoscopes and push cameras (sometimes called a boiler tube camera). Inspected areas include the inner boiler tube walls for corrosion, erosion, pitting, blockage and over all condition.