How Hydro Testing Works And What It

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By Daniel Miller


There many different types of pressure vessels that can require this type of test periodically to ensure its functionality and safety. A pressure vessel can include anything from plumbing, boilers, pipelines, and gas tanks. Since businesses and homes have some or many of these types of containers or systems, it is important to stay up-to-date on hydro testing.

Since the liquids or gasses inside these vessels are pressurized and often at very high or low temperatures, making sure everything is working properly with a standardized test is very important. When they were being developed, these containers and pipelines caused many deaths due to faulty design. Now they have been made much safer, and a professional test can ensure its safety.

Since one of the main goals of this test is to see if there are any leaks in the vessel occurring, it is often just called a leak test. This also provides a way to find out where the problem is happening. Hydrostatic pressure tests are also important to examine the general functionality and durability of the pressure vessel.

While this test requires trained professionals and specialized equipment, the process is not very hard to understand. The container or pipeline is filled with a liquid or a gas, most commonly water, through its supply valve. Once it reaches the designated pressure for the test, the valve is shut off; if any pressure is lost, it means that there is a leak somewhere.

The best way to tell where a leak is happening is by adding some kind of coloration to the medium being used. This is easily achieved in water with dye, which is the method many testers use. By simply following the dye and seeing where it is escaping from, sometimes a problem can be solved easily where it would've seemed like a major replacement was due.

As soon as a vessel or pipe system like this is made, it undergoes this test to make sure it is safe and up to standards before it reaches customers. Since they can also wear out or malfunction over time, it is also crucial that they are periodically reexamined by a certified professional. A proof pressure test or modified hydrostatic test is usually what they use.

The three main options for mediums to carry out this test with are air, water, and oil. The main drawback of oil is that it is expensive. Air requires specialized machinery in order to set up the test. That is why most professionals offering this service prefer to work with water.

In order to make sure that the user of a pressurized vessel will be safe, tests like these often go far above the pressure that it would be at for normal operations. This gives the user added confidence that nothing will go wrong when using it. The amount of pressure being tested at will usually be a percentage higher than the normal operating pressure.




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