Welding solutions firm Shield Technologies says significant electricity and maintenance savings can be achieved using Belgium company Special Detection Tools (SDT) International’s ultrasonic leak detector.
The SDT leak detector detects compressed air, gas and vacuum leaks.
Compressed air is used for grinding, cutting, spray-painting, sandblasting and in pneumatic equipment, especially in the motor and food industries.
“In South Africa, where there is a great drive towards saving electrical energy, owing to the limited capacity of the country’s national grid, about 30% to 50% of compressed air that is lost because of leaks result in electrical energy losses and increased costs. “There is an opportunity in the market for us to assist other engineering companies in using compressed air efficiently to save money and take pressure off the grid,” says Shield Technologies CEO Wayne Holt.
He adds that the SDT leak detector, which can detect air leaks from up to 80 m away, is useful for predictive maintenance, as compressed-air leaks result in significant electricity losses.
Holt notes that leaks result in higher compressor wear, which reduces the equipment’s life span, adding that raw material, such as gas or electrical energy, is being wasted wherever there is a leak.
He states that leaks can result in financial losses of about 30% to 50% of the cost of energy consumption. However, with the SDT leak detector, it is possible to save up to R100 000 a year.
The SDT leak detector consists of various sensors that register the leak and amplify it for easy detection. SDT ultrasound detectors are fitted with an internal sensor, which is ideal for daily searches and the quick checking of easily accessible places.
It also consists of a flexible sensor and a parabolic sensor.
The flexible sensor, equipped with an ergonomical rubber grip, is designed to detect leaks in hard-to-reach places and is used to manoeuvre around the parts that need to be inspected. It can be bent, turned and pointed in any direction and can be used in areas where safety is a concern. This entails finding leaks near moving parts such as couplers, belts, pulleys and conveyors up to 3 m.
The parabolic sensor is a high-precision signal concentrator and is used for detecting leaks over long distances, such as 5 m to 8 m or for detecting leaks that are out of range. The transparent Plexiglas parabola is fitted with a sensor, a rifle sight and a laser sight for extremely accurate specification.
The SDT leak detector can be fitted with a screen that has a bar graph and a digital display. The bar graph provides an estimated indication of the decibel level of the leak.
The digital display is vital for quantifying leaks when correlating formulas, which takes into consideration the loudness of the leak at a set distance and the pressure of the air system.
Shield Technologies mainly uses the SDT leak detector when dealing with welding gases, but Holt says the company is expanding to compressed air because of the energy savings associated with it.