A borescope inspection of gas turbines tends to be more complicated than other standard inspections conducted in the industrial and manufacturing industries. This is due to the higher temperatures that gas turbines operate at which can be as high as two-thousand degrees Fahrenheit.


These inspections are crucial however, and without them internal issues could go undiscovered leading to potential damage and failure. Borescopes are essential for this inspection process, and an inspection should never be performed without them.

Understanding Inspections

A borescope enables inspectors to see into parts of the machine that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to view. This allows for an inspection without damage to the machines, and risk to operators.


The borescope itself can be both flexible or rigid, include lighting, and additional viewing lenses to allow for viewing the interior of the turbine. An operator will use this to carefully inspect the turbine, after which they will create a borescope inspection report which will lay out any abnormalities or functional issues that were noticed. This gives operators crucial information about the turbine that can be used to prevent future incidents; especially in the case that failure could occur from a previously undetected issue.

Other Used For Borescopes

Borescopes are used for more than just inspecting gas turbines, in fact they can also be used in combustion engines, heat exchange tubes, pipes, and other hard to reach machine components.


These devices have additional advantages that make them perfect for inspecting dangerous, or hard to reach machine parts, this includes:

• A straight forward design that allows them to be easily used without unnecessary hassle.
• The images they produce are of a high quality and can even detect minute and small imperfections within turbines. While rigid borescopes typically produce better images, the flexible variety works just as well in most cases.
• Borescopes are capable of reaching deep into machines, and can cover a lot of area to ensure absolute machine security.

A borescope inspection of gas turbines is essential to ensure the safety of the machine, and it’s overall functionality. Without them a power plant wouldn’t be able to run as effectively, or as efficiently as needed. Even seemingly small issues can cause catastrophic damage that can result in expensive repairs, or even injury to onsite personnel. Faulty machines should never be operated until given the all clear in a follow up inspection. Scheduling a semi-annual borescope inspection of gas turbines can help decrease the chances of failure, and keep your turbines running as smoothly as possible.