Gas Detection and Safety System
In this article:
- Automated Gas Detection for Confined Space Safety: Waygate Technologies developed a gas detection and safety system to ensure safe robotic inspections in confined, potentially explosive environments like pressure vessels
- Continuous Hydrocarbon Monitoring: The system uses a Simtronics GD10P gas detector to continuously sample and analyze air for hydrocarbon concentrations via a long suction tube integrated into the robot’s umbilical cable
- Automatic Shutdown at Critical Thresholds: If gas levels exceed 10% of the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL), a sensor-controlled switch automatically cuts power to the robotic platform, preventing ignition risks
- Built-In Self-Testing and Calibration: The gas detector performs a self-test at startup and compensates for aging and contamination, ensuring reliable operation without the need for recalibration throughout its lifecycle
- Fail-Safe Design for Industrial Inspections: The system’s pre-set safety thresholds and error-mode safeguards provide robust protection, making it ideal for high-risk industrial inspection scenarios
When using remote inspection robots in confined spaces such as pressure vessels where there is a risk of an explosive atmosphere, safe operation can always be achieved by ensuring that the atmosphere is permanently monitored and devices are unpowered immediately. Our robotic platforms can equipped with a suction tube which allows for continuous sampling of air from the inspection location. The sampled gas is fed through a gas detector (Simtronics Gas Detector GD10P) which permanently measures the concentration of hydrocarbons present in the gas. If the signal indicates a concentration above the threshold (typically 10 %LEL) the sensor controlled switch cuts the power to the robotic platform and all consumers connected to it. The threshold value is pre-set by the manufacturer and can’t be changed by the user.
Gas Monitoring
The concentration of hydrocarbons is measured continuously by the gas detector by sampling through a long tube which is integrated in the umbilical cable.
Calibration
The gas detector performs a self-test during startup. The test takes a couple of seconds. The power to the robotic platform is off during this startup phase and only comes on if the test was passed successfully.
Safe Standard
If the signal indicates a concentration above the threshold (typically 10 %LEL) the sensor controlled switch cuts the power to the robot platform and all consumers connected to it.
The concentration of hydrocarbons is measured continuously by the gas detector by sampling through a long tube which is integrated in the umbilical cable. An analog current signal (4 to 20mA) proportional to the measured %LEL is compared to a threshold value. If the signal indicates a concentration above the threshold (typically 10 %LEL) the sensor controlled switch cuts the power to the robotic platform and all consumers connected to it. The threshold value is pre-set by the manufacturer and can’t be changed by the user.
The gas detector performs a self-test during startup. The test takes a couple of seconds. The power to the robotic platform is off during this startup phase and only comes on if the test was passed successfully. The gas detector also compensates for aging effects and dirt on the optics during the startup calibration and self-testing. If the optics are too dirty for proper operation or the self-test is not passed due to other reasons, the sensor remains in error mode and the system output remains off.
The gas detector is calibrated and temperature tested in a controlled environment at the factory. No further calibration is required during the life time of the product, as the zero point and calibration will stay inside the given tolerances.
- Remote Hydrocarbon Concentration Supervision
- Continuous Gas Sampling by long tube (20-30m)
- Automatic System Shutdown on measured Concentrations > 10% LEL
- %LEL Display
- Selftest at System Startup
- Gasflow Supervision for Sampling Tube
- Automatic System Shutdown on Gasflow below or above normal Level
- Gasflow Display
- Switch up to 3 Devices (i.e. Robot, Inspection Camera and other devices)
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