Automated In-Situ Inspection System for Underground Fuel Storage Tanks

Currently, no commercial robotic inspection system can operate in a petrochemical bath and perform the precise, repeatable measurements required for tank inspection. Innovative Dynamics proposes to address this problem by determining the sensor requirements for robotic tank inspection. An integrated sensor module will be developed containing an ultrasonic wall thickness gage, a video inspection sensor, and a capacitance-based corrosion/crack sensor, the latter adapted from previous NDE sensor work at IDI. The conbined sensor measurements will maximize the probability of detecting tank wall and tank liner defects. An evaluation of systems for registering measurements on the tank wall will be performed to enable precise and repeatable measurements. Automated fault diagnosis will be provided using a neural-network-based expert system. Lab tests on submerged tank wall specimens will be performed to evaluate the sensor module performance. Based on these sensor studies, deployment requirements will be defined during Phase II for the design and fabrication of an operational robotic inspection system. Cost effective solutions will be sought. Custom or modified commercially available robot types (such as the underwater remotely operated vehicles or magnetically-attached surface crawler will be evaluated which will fulfill these requirements.