Malaysia Seminar | Identifying Hidden Threats to
Critical Assets with Acoustic Emission

Overview

Tanks and pressure vessels are among the most critical assets in industrial facilities, serving essential functions across the oil and gas, petrochemical, chemical, power generation, manufacturing, and storage sectors. Over time, these assets are exposed to various degradation mechanisms such as corrosion, cracking, stress corrosion cracking, fatigue damage, hydrogen-related damage, and weld defects. If left undetected, these hidden threats can compromise structural integrity, lead to unplanned shutdowns, increase maintenance costs, and in severe cases, result in catastrophic failures that threaten personnel safety, the environment, and business continuity.

Traditional inspection methods often require equipment shutdown, extensive surface preparation, or inspection of only limited areas. As industries strive to enhance safety while maximizing operational availability, there is a growing need for advanced inspection technologies capable of identifying active defects before they develop into critical failures.

This seminar will introduce acoustic emission testing (AET), a proven non-destructive examination technique that detects and locates active damage mechanisms while the asset is under operating or test conditions. Unlike conventional methods that only identify existing discontinuities, AET monitors the transient stress waves generated by active events (e.g. growing cracks, active corrosion event, fibre breakage, leakage, and other forms of structural degradation). This capability enables asset owners and operators to gain valuable insights into the real-time condition of their equipment and prioritize maintenance activities based on actual risk.

Participants will learn the fundamentals of acoustic emission technology, its applications for aboveground storage tanks and pressure vessels, and how AET can be integrated into an effective asset integrity management (AIM) programme. Practical field experience will be presented to demonstrate how early detection of hidden threats has helped organizations improve safety, optimize inspection strategies, reduce downtime, and extend asset service life.

Join AET’s technical experts as they share practical insights and industry experiences on how AET can help organizations detect hidden threats, make informed integrity decisions, and ensure the safe and reliable operation of critical assets.

Who Should Attend?

• Asset Integrity Engineers & Managers
• Inspection and Corrosion Engineers & Managers
• Reliability and Maintenance Engineers & Managers
• Plant Managers and Operations Personnel
• HSE Professionals
• Tank Farm and Terminal Operators
• Pressure Vessel Owners and Inspectors
• Engineering Consultants and Asset Owners

Key Takeaways

• Understand common degradation mechanisms affecting tanks and pressure vessels.
• Learn the principles and capabilities of AET.
• Discover how AET identifies active defects and hidden damage.
• Explore industry case studies and practical applications.
• Improve asset integrity, operational reliability, and safety performance through risk-based inspection and condition assessment strategies.