AMKO has tube trailer retest facilities located in southern AR at Hope, AR in southern CA at Adelanto, CA and in north east OH at Midvale, OH. These facilities can perform DOT tube retesting and complete tube trailer and tube bundle refurbishment including valve and bursting disc repair or replacement, tube restacking, blasting and painting, etc. In addition, AE tube testing can be done at all three facilities or by one of AMKO’s mobile test crews.
Yes, the AE test equipment is very mobile. AMKO has performed AE testing throughout North America including in Canada and several different sites in Mexico. AMKO has performed AE testing in the Middle East, Asia and even on several Caribbean islands.
Call our toll free number 1-877-USE-AMKO (1.877.873.2656) and press 0. This phone number is staffed from 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern time zone Monday through Friday. Messages can be left 24 hours/day 7 days a week. You can also call direct 330.602.7330 and speak to Brenda Pope between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM Eastern time zone Monday through Friday. Or send an email.
The DOT regulations require the tubes to be reinspected every 5 years by a DOT registered retester. AMKO has been issued a DOT exemption that permits the use of an AE retest and external visual inspection in lieu of the hydrostatic test and internal visual inspection. The AE test permits the tubes to be retested with dry Nitrogen gas eliminating any water contamination.
For an AE test, the tubes can be retested while still mounted on the tube trailer if the tubes do not touch each other. If the tubes do touch each other, the tubes can be removed for the AE test and then remounted on the tube after the AE test. If the rested tubes are remounted/restacked so that they do not touch, the tubes can be AE retested five years in the future without removing the tubes from the trailer chassis.
AMKO has a standard line of 1, 2, and 3 inch pressure regulating modules in copper and stainless steel. We also have a 3/4 inch stainless hospital cabinet with copper pressure regulating module assembly. If you have a special requirement we can build it to your specification.
In a hydrostatic test, the tube is filled with water and pressurized to 5/3 of the marked service pressure. If the tube does not leak, expand beyond a certain point, or burst under the test pressure, the tube passes the hydrotest. In an AE retest, the tube is instrumented with sensors. While the tube is being filled with gas to 110% of its normal fill pressure, the sensors listen for noise (acoustic emission) coming from any defects within the tube. The sensors locate the AE site and plot the site on a graph. Shear wave ultrasonics is then used to confirm the defect location and determine the size of the defect.