The majority of bulk liquids are stored in tanks which are extremely hazardous to the environment and any spillage is likely to lead to major contamination of the environment and needs to be prevented. It is estimated that 20% of storage tank accidents are caused by cracks or raptures on the tank structure.
Current storage tank NDT inspection is costly, time-consuming and potentially hazardous to human operators. The traditional method is to transfer the tank contents to another tank and vent the emptied tank in order human inspectors can enter it. This process can take over 4 weeks and can cost more than €500k. In addition to these, hazardous gases are often released into the atmosphere.
To address these concerns, alternative inspection technologies are urgently needed, and the consortium aims to fill this gap by developing suitable strategies to meet the technical and regulatory requirements for this challenging application scenario. TankRob is a leading-edge NDT inspection mobile robot system able to inspect the internal steel surfaces of operational oil and gas storage tanks.
In order to maximise its market and impact, the TankRob mobile robot system builds on previous knowledge to realise a design to fit through small access holes found in such storage tanks. The TankRob mobile robot system is being designed to comply with ATEX regulations for operation in the oil section of oil tanks to perform semi-autonomous inspection of the floor of tanks without having to empty, clean and vent the tank.
The improved system will be equipped with advanced NDT instrumentation such as PAUT transducers, with precise localisation and navigation strategies, required to inspect and detect corrosion induced defects in oil tanks in a semi-autonomous manner. Increasing NDT inspection areas coverage is vital for detecting defects to ensure natural disasters arising such as oil leakages into the subsoil and nearby rivers or sea are prevented. Such an innovation is expected to have a notable impact in the economy by creating jobs and training opportunities.
The specific objectives of the TANKROB project are summarised as follows:
- Design optimisation to allow for ATEX certification for use in explosive environments while minimising the manufacturing costs (WP1).
- Control and ultrasound imaging algorithm fine-tuning and GUI implementation (WP2).
- ATEX certification of the TankRob system (WP3)
- Validation and qualification of TankRob in real-world oil tank operational environment (WP4).
- Establishment of TankRob’s distribution network (WP6).
