Hatch launches LayerSense for inspecting ageing assets

Hatch has launched LayerSense, an ultrasonic inspection system for heavy industrial assets. The technology can examine structures through multiple wall layers while equipment remains in operation.

The launch comes as operators in mining, ports, transport and aviation keep ageing assets in service for longer and seek better visibility into deterioration developing inside equipment and infrastructure.

LayerSense uses low-frequency ultrasonic pulses to inspect complex structures from the outside and assess internal layers, corrosion, cracking and wall-thickness loss. The system can measure total wall thicknesses of up to 600 mm and single layers from about 10 mm, with accuracy within 2 mm.

The system builds on Hatch's earlier low-frequency ultrasonic tool, StaveCheck, which has been used in steel plants to monitor operating blast furnaces. That technology measures the thickness of furnace staves from outside the furnace, through the steel shell and refractory lining.

Heavy industry operators have traditionally relied on inspection methods that struggle to detect damage deep inside layered structures. The problem is particularly acute in large assets such as pipelines, furnaces, smelters, rail systems and stacker reclaimers, where internal deterioration can remain hidden until it causes failures, safety incidents or unplanned outages.

Simon Nitschke, Managing Director of Technologies at Hatch, said longer asset lives have changed the engineering task facing operators.

"In critical industries such as mining, shipping and transport, asset replacement cycles have lengthened. But we're often talking about machines that weigh thousands of tonnes and were designed for very different operating conditions when they were first built.

The engineering challenge is no longer simply keeping assets running longer. It is understanding how those assets are ageing while they remain in operation. Extending their lifespan can only be done safely if operators understand how materials and components are degrading over time.

These assets have long required more sophisticated ways to assess their condition as they age. While low-frequency pulse ultrasonic systems are available to address the issue, they need to go further by assessing the walls of complex structures through three, four or more layers.

An emerging technological capability can meet that challenge, but it needs to become widely available. An LFPU system integrated with advanced non-destructive testing techniques can identify corrosion, cracks and wall-thickness loss across multiple layers in equipment long before they become visible, even while the equipment remains in operation."

Field testing

Hatch has been refining the underlying approach for more than a decade in operating industrial settings. One example is BHP Nickel West's Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter, where Hatch used ultrasonic scanning to monitor the integrity of the smelting furnace lining over about six years.

Like other pyrometallurgical equipment, the furnace required routine monitoring of its high-temperature lining. BHP had mainly relied on temperature sensors, but those could not identify cracks and internal separation developing inside the lining itself.

Hatch said its scanning work tracked the condition of the furnace base and identified where the lining was cracking. It detected early signs of damage about three years before the issue could have threatened the furnace structure. Later repairs during a planned shutdown confirmed the location of the cracking and validated the scan results on accretion build-up.

That case study underpins Hatch's argument that operators can use this type of inspection to align repairs with scheduled maintenance, rather than wait for faults to become visible or critical.

Afshin Sadri, Technical Lead for the project and inventor of LayerSense, said the system is designed to give operators more time to make maintenance decisions.

"If operators can better predict when equipment needs repair, reinforcement or replacement, they can align downtime with planned shutdown activities. Australia's heavy industries can make better-informed decisions about maintenance, shutdown scheduling and repair to prevent costly incidents and broader operational interruptions.

LayerSense differs from conventional industrial ultrasonic systems in the way its ultrasonic pulses are generated and received, allowing it to measure through complex structures with three, four or more layers.

Across heavy industry, operators are being asked to get more life out of increasingly complex and ageing infrastructure. The challenge for engineers is ensuring those assets can continue operating safely, reliably and efficiently while giving operators greater visibility into what is happening beneath the surface. The engineering capability to better understand those risks is now emerging."

Ageing assets

The broader backdrop is a heavy industrial base that is often expensive to replace and difficult to inspect without disrupting production. In mining, metals processing, ports and transport, operators face pressure to extend asset life while avoiding the cost of major replacement programs.

That creates a practical problem for maintenance teams: deterioration often develops within thick, layered walls that conventional inspection cannot easily reach, particularly while assets remain in service. In those cases, shutdown-based inspection can be costly, while indirect methods may not provide enough detail to identify cracking or material loss early.

Hatch is a global engineering, project delivery and professional services firm with more than 11,000 staff and operations in more than 150 countries.