NDT Ultrasound robot

None Destructive Testing Robot for Continuous Thickness Inspection

Domestic Patent: 13-206022

The design is an umbilical-free mobile non-destructive testing (NDT) climbing robot for industrial applications that is capable of inspecting oil tanks, pipelines, petro-chemical tanks, bridges, railways, etc. It is carries a NDT wheel probe with the aim of detects weld defects, wall thickness and corrosion. The robot adapts to surface curvatures (both convex and concave and both along its length and width) and can make transitions between surfaces that have an angle of up to sixty degrees between them. The robot and an on-board NDT Flaw Detector are controlled remotely via wireless communication. Higher level commands remotely adjust NDT parameters, robot speeds, and control inspection tasks from the ground.

The robot is able to attach itself to ferrous surfaces and is able to change surfaces while maintaining an adhesion force and climb on vertical surfaces. The robot is designed to scan long weld lines with continuous motion. It deploys a dry contact ultrasonic wheel probe to detect weld defects and corrosion in the wall. It is completely umbilical free with all control and NDT data acquisition on-board and controlled wirelessly using Wi-Fi technology. The NDT inspector is able to control the robot via a PC laptop computer and set all parameters from the ground. The robot saves all data on-board; all the on-board devices are powered by a lithium-ion Polymer (Li-Po) battery pack.

Country & Year

Colombia - 2012

Authors

Hernando Leon-Rodriguez