We all know how difficult a decision would be for the management of the refining and petrochemical plants when inspection engineers will need to do critical inspection when the integrity of the plant is in doubt. In chemical industry such as production of highly combustible gases and gases that self-ignite upon loss of containment, this is very dangerous.
A Mexican company has come up with a prototype of RoboPipe, a robot that could do the inspection of
piping without the presence of inspection engineer at site. The RoboPipe acts via remote control and using magnets can take measurement using ultrasound to measure the thickness of pipes. It is also equipped with camera to take pictures and videos. It can move around pipes including overcoming obstacles and manoeuvring 90 degree elbows.
piping without the presence of inspection engineer at site. The RoboPipe acts via remote control and using magnets can take measurement using ultrasound to measure the thickness of pipes. It is also equipped with camera to take pictures and videos. It can move around pipes including overcoming obstacles and manoeuvring 90 degree elbows.
The project is a collaboration between Mexican Corporation of Material Research (COMIMSA) with Superior Studies of Monterrey (ITESM). The system is also expected to be popular with the upstream and oil field facilities.
The technology would be very useful for usage in the areas of pipeline integrity during emergency for damage control. The picture is during BP Texas Refinery explosion. Deployment of such robots can gain access to areas where it is no longer safe for humans to go for inspection. During an Emergency Response situation, limited number of personnels are allowed into the site, and this usually only limited to critical panel man and the Emergency Response Team to control fire.
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