TY - GEN
T1 - Robotic inspection of unpiggable natural gas transmission and distribution pipeline
AU - Laursen, Paul
AU - D'Zurko, Daphne
AU - Vradis, George
AU - Swiech, Craig
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - The present paper presents the development effort and precommercial deployment of Explorer II - a semi-autonomous, self-powered, tetherless robotic platform, carrying a Remote Field Eddy Current (RFEC) sensor, for the inspection of unpiggable natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines in the 6 to 8 inch (152 to 203 mm) range, including those that feature multiple diameters, short radius and mitered bends, and tees. The system is based on a modular design that allows the system to be deployed in various configurations to carry out visual inspection and/or non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of a pipeline. The heart of this system is a RFEC sensor able to measure the pipeline's wall thickness. In addition, two fisheye cameras at each end of the robot provide high quality visual inspection capabilities for locating joints, tee-offs, and other pipeline features. The system can operate, including launching and retrieval, in live pipelines with pressures up to 750 psig (50 bars). The system is currently being offered for precommercial deployments and is expected to be commercially available in the Fall of 2010.
AB - The present paper presents the development effort and precommercial deployment of Explorer II - a semi-autonomous, self-powered, tetherless robotic platform, carrying a Remote Field Eddy Current (RFEC) sensor, for the inspection of unpiggable natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines in the 6 to 8 inch (152 to 203 mm) range, including those that feature multiple diameters, short radius and mitered bends, and tees. The system is based on a modular design that allows the system to be deployed in various configurations to carry out visual inspection and/or non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of a pipeline. The heart of this system is a RFEC sensor able to measure the pipeline's wall thickness. In addition, two fisheye cameras at each end of the robot provide high quality visual inspection capabilities for locating joints, tee-offs, and other pipeline features. The system can operate, including launching and retrieval, in live pipelines with pressures up to 750 psig (50 bars). The system is currently being offered for precommercial deployments and is expected to be commercially available in the Fall of 2010.
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U2 - 10.1115/IPC2010-31270
DO - 10.1115/IPC2010-31270
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:80054029123
SN - 9780791844205
T3 - Proceedings of the Biennial International Pipeline Conference, IPC
SP - 407
EP - 410
BT - 2010 8th International Pipeline Conference, IPC2010
T2 - 2010 8th International Pipeline Conference, IPC2010
Y2 - 27 September 2010 through 1 October 2010
ER -