Resumen

ARZOLA DE LA PENA, Nelson. Economic feasibility study regarding the applicability of ultrasonic inspection of the Cuban sugar industry’s sugarcane mill shafts. Ing. Investig. [online]. 2006, vol.26, n.2, pp.5-9. ISSN 0120-5609.

This article evaluates the economic feasibility of carrying out ultrasonic inspection of sugar-mill shafts. Four alternatives are considered, including the most frequently encountered scenarios. How and when inspections are carried out is analysed, periods between inspections being established by a fatigue-crack growth propagation approach. The lifecycle cost approach was applied for economic evaluation. Operation, maintenance and energy consumption costs were thus taken into consideration. The conclusion was drawn that it is highly advisable to use high performance ultrasonic inspection. Introducing ultrasonic inspection (according to the period of time obtained by fracture mechanics model) could lead to a saving of half a million dollars per year for the Cuban sugarcane industry in the current conditions.

Palabras clave : inspection; lifecycle cost; sugar mill; shaft.

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