Water walls (tubes welded to tubes in parallel) in boilers need to be inspected on a regular basis carrying out a visual inspection and a wall thickness measurement. To avoid time consuming scaffolding , especially for partial inspection, an automated system for water wall inspection and cleaning was designed by Inspection Robotics in collaboration with our partners.
The core element of the inspection system is a crawler with 4 magnetic rollers. The magnets can be swiveled to allow for safe handling as well as to be able to cross wall transition (up to 90°). The crawler carries several waterjet nozzles fed by a water pump outside the boiler. A dedicated deployment crane allows the operator team to safely deploy the 80kg crawler into the boiler.
Time Saving
Looking at the big picture the time & cost saving using a robotic cleaning and inspection solution is tremendous. From preparation tasks (e.g. work permits), to scaffolding, to cleaning & inspection time & effort are reduced.
Safety
The robot is operated from a safe & remote location. Confined space work permits, rescue plans and watchmen are not required. This not only saves costs but also minimizes the risk for your operators.
Intelligence
The crawler automatically detects the tubes, recognizes deviation on the driving path and corrects it automatically. For the operator this means he can purely concentrate on his cleaning / inspection task.
The system is able to reach the point of interest in the boiler from its launching point (typically the manway). This means safe attachment to the water wall from the entryway, movement on the water wall tubes in any orientation and crossing wall transition. If needed, the inspection area can be cleaned before it is inspected visually and/or by UT for corrosion.
Visual Inspection
Remote Boiler Assessment
Several cameras on the crawler and at the manway allow for detailed visual inspection. Close-up look at burners, water walls, soot blowers, igniters, or temperature probes.
Overview Camera
Overview and supervision
Pan-Zilt-Zoom Camera positioned at a manway to monitor crawler operation. Equipped with powerful light output and tuned to work in dark environments
Control Station
ICS 2 as all-in-one controller
Our standard rugged field controller with integrated touchscreen and control joystick.
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