Automated inspection and maintenance of steel structures

Informations projet

AIMS

N° de convention de subvention: BRPR980680

Projet clôturé

Date de début 1 Septembre 1998

Date de fin 31 Août 2001

Financé au titre de

• Specific research and technological development programme in the field of industrial and materials technologies, 1994-1998

Coût total € 0,00

Contribution de l’UE Aucune donnée

Coordonné par

Kuka Roboter GmbH
Germany

Livrables

NDT method for detection of under-paint corrosion

Using ultrasound lockin thermography some success has been achieved in detecting varying amounts of hidden corrosion on steel plate. A laboratory test on a steel ‘I’ beam confirmed that the method was viable. Further development is needed before moving forward to the supportive artificial intelligence that would be needed for commercial NDT systems incorporating the technology. If verified in commercial terms, and producible in useable and economic forms, this system would have good prospects in all manner of large-scale steel structure inspection, including ships, bridges and storage tanks. Such equipment would typically be employed to give quantified support in decision making in advance of repair contracts allowing the ‘patch repair’ method and more effective targeting of limited maintenance budgets across Europe. Depending on costs and technical performance, sales of several 1000’s of units per year on a world basis seems realistic.

Recommendation for training, safety and certification

On completion of the project the results and knowledge gained through the research were assimilated into a series of recommendations. These will be targeted at the authorities that specify the refurbishment of steel structures and at the Standards Agencies. The recommendations will provide guidance on the training of operatives to safely use the equipment with due regard to the impact on the environment, and the specific safety requirements of the processes.

Blasting medium capture and handling system

Currently, the strategy for pollution control on complicated structures is to create a cover around the working area, adapted to the surface treatment on the object. It must be a cover with ventilation, cleaning media recovery system and with utilities for the whole surface treatment cycle. In AIMS local pollution containment strategies that use a shroud around the tool at the surface have been developed. After collection, used cleaning media is lead to a funnel and into a vent channel leading to a separator where the media is cleaned and the waste is taken away and dumped. There are many different methods already existing on the market to clean the blasting media. The use of this type of equipment may reduce the overall use of blasting medium but create a higher throughput at the surface. It will reduce the amount of waste and speed up the handling of the used blasting medium. The local pollution strategies in AIMS will lead to reduced pollution at the workplace, helping to improve the working environment.

NDT method for classification of surfaces

Image processing techniques have been applied to the classification of cleaned and progressively corroded steel plate. The project identified texture features that appear to distinguish plates at different stages of corrosion development or determine surface preparation quality. Verification and artificial intelligence for optimisation and high-level interpretation in relation to commercial NDT equipment is still needed. If verified and proven suitable for markets, this system would have good commercial prospects in large-scale steel structure inspection including ships, bridges and storage tanks. Such equipment would typically be employed to give quantified support in repair decision-making. Depending on costs and technical performance, sales of several 1000’s of units per year on a world basis seem realistic.

Automated blasting tool

A semi-automated tool has been developed and tested in the project. This tool has the following capabilities: - Suitable for use with either water jet blasting or dry blasting processes. - Able to position the blasting nozzle with the optimal distance and orientation for restoration with respect to the steel surface for both wet and dry blasting processes based on the optimal process parameters found by calibration. - Suitable for interfacing to an automated blasting solution. - Capable of producing high levels of output. These mechanisms will allow a high level of surface restoration quality to be reached due to its flexibility and controlled motion capability. Substantial increases are expected in the productivity of companies using the mechanism.