Inspection Practices for Pressure Vessels

Nonmetallic liners may be used to resist corrosion and erosion, reduce fouling
potential (i.e. exchanger tubes), or to insulate and reduce the temperature on the
walls of a pressure vessel. The most common nonmetallic lining materials are
reinforced concrete, acid brick, refractory material, insulating material, carbon brick
or block, rubber, phenolic/epoxy coatings, glass, and plastic.
Pressure vessels constructed out of nonmetallic materials are usually made from
fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) and can be more resistant to some corrosive services.
FRP can be made with different resins as the matrix material and typically use
glass fiber as the reinforcement. Reinforced thermoset plastics are a type of FRP
that is more rigid due to the use of a thermoset resin for the matrix rather than a
thermoplastic. Both of these nonmetallic materials have varying strength due to the
type of fiber used, fiber weave, and the lay-up of the fiber layers.
Glass lined vessel
Fion Zhang/ Charlie Chong