Actuatable Guide Tube for In-Situ Powerplant Defect Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inspection methods for internal defects in powerplant components are inefficient and require disassembly, leading to high costs and downtime.
Innovation Solution
A guide tube system with a flexible section and a guide tube controller is used to bend and position an inspection scope within the powerplant, allowing for non-destructive inspection of components while installed, using piezoelectric actuators and sensors to induce vibrations and measure vibratory responses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If traditional inspection methods are used for internal defects in powerplant components, then inspection can be performed, but disassembly is required leading to high costs and downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tube is divided into a rigid proximal section and a flexible distal section, allowing the distal end to be bent and positioned independently to access internal components while the proximal end remains stable for scope insertion. This segmentation enables inspection without disassembly while maintaining system manageability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide tube transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic flexible structure at its distal end, enabling it to adapt its shape and position to reach internal components. The flexible section can be bent to various angles to access different inspection locations without requiring component disassembly.
2Measurement precision
If the guide tube distal end is spaced from the component surface, then vibration induction is effective, but the inspection scope must be precisely positioned
Solution Approach 1:
The guide tube acts as an intermediary structure that maintains the optimal spacing between the inspection scope and the component surface. By controlling the distal end position and orientation, the guide tube ensures the scope is positioned at the correct distance for effective vibration induction and accurate response measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system controls the spacing parameter between the scope and component surface to optimize measurement accuracy. The guide tube enables adjustment of this critical parameter by bending the distal end to precise angles, ensuring the scope maintains the optimal distance for vibratory response detection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient, non-destructive inspection of powerplant components with minimal downtime and cost, identifying internal defects such as cracks and corrosion by analyzing vibratory responses.
Implementation Method 1
using piezoelectric actuators and sensors to induce vibrations and measure vibratory responses
Implementation Method 2
A vibratory response is measured in the component excited by the vibrations using a sensor to provide sensor data
Data Source
AI summary
An inspection method is provided during which a distal end of a guide tube is inserted into an interior of a powerplant. The powerplant includes a component within the interior of the powerplant. A flexible section of the guide tube is bent within the interior of the powerplant. An inspection scope is passed longitudinally through a bore of the guide tube, and a head of the inspection scope is abutted against a surface of the component. The head of the inspection scope includes an actuator. The distal end of the guide tube is spaced from the surface of the component. Vibrations are induced in the component using the actuator. A vibratory response is measured in the component excited by the vibrations using a sensor to provide sensor data.