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TankRob - Robotic inspection of petrochemical storage tanks

The aim of the TankRob project is to build a commercially viable robotic platform with ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) capabilities able to detect corrosion and flaws in petrochemical storage tanks.  The NDT system is being certified to ATEX Zone 0 offering a clear competitive advantage over competitors.

Use of the system eliminates the need for human exposure to hazardous atmospheres whilst reducing the time and costs associated with cleaning and venting oil tanks for manual inspection.

Overview

Petrochemical storage tanks constitute a crucial piece of infrastructure for the modern economy.  The Federation of European Tank Storage Associations accounts for more than 70 million cubic meters of crude oil derivatives.  These are potentially hazardous to the environment, which is further exacerbated by the fact that storage facilities are typically located near ports or rivers for trading convenience.

These risks have pushed legislators to enforce strict regulation with respect to pollution reduction that calls for stringent storage tank inspection measures, such as the European Directive 2006/11/EC and the US Regulation 40 CFR (Part 112).

TankRob has been designed to allow facility operators to achieve these inspection directives.

Objectives

  • Design of an NDT electronics package suitable for integration onto a remotely operated robot platform
  • ATEX Zone 0 certification of the NDT electronics package for explosive environments
  • Manufacture of a demonstration NDT electronics package
  • Development of a suitable phased array ultrasonic probe for use with the certified NDT electronics package
  • The demonstration of a working robotic platform with NDT capability
Figure 1: Operational deployment of NDT package
Figure 1: Operational deployment of NDT package

Solution

A self-contained PI68 (7m water submergence for 24 hours) NDT unit capable of integration into the TankRob platform certified to ATEX Zone 0 requirements.

TWI is gaining certification for the NDT electronics package through SGS BASEEFA for ATEX Zone 0 (Encapsulation), Ex ia IIB T3Ga.

Conclusion

TWI has successfully demonstrated a water-cooled NDT system contained within a watertight enclosure capable of achieving ATEX Zone 0, Ex ia IIB T3Ga.

 

TankRob is a Horizon 2020 funded project in collaboration with TWI Ltd, Innovative Technology and Science Limited (InnotecUK), Technic-Control Sp. z o.o. (Technic-Control), London South Bank University (LSBU) and Integrity NDT Muhendislik San.Tic.Ltd.ST (Integrity NDT).

Avatar James Kern Senior Project Leader

James graduated from Sheffield University with a B.Eng and PhD in 1992. He worked as a metallurgist at Sandberg consultant engineers, a Senior Technologist at Rolls Royce and as Chief Materials Scientist at APPH (now Heroux Devtek), before joining TWI in 2014. He first specialised in hot forming and bonding processes before transferring to the NDT Group.

He has successfully lead numerous collaborative (Horizon 2020 and Innovate UK) and single client projects, leading research activities and developing manufacturing prototypes. Current areas of interest include radiation effects on materials and sensors, Geothermal Energy, ATEX, manufactured defects for calibration purposes and shearography.

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