Corrosion Monitoring Using Optical Pit Mapping for Service Life Scheduling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for monitoring corrosion in equipment, such as turbine engines, often focus on crack propagation and single corrosion pits, leading to inaccurate predictions of remaining useful service life and failing to account for comprehensive corrosion assessment.
Innovation Solution
A corrosion monitoring system that uses multi-dimensional optical measurements of corrosion pits to quantify stress concentrations and implement remediation actions, including cleaning, coating, and operational parameter adjustments, without requiring equipment removal, to reduce corrosion rates and extend service life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If periodic inspection is used to check corrosion, then equipment can be monitored for cracks and single corrosion pits, but the inspection is inaccurate and does not examine other aspects of corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from examining single corrosion pits to analyzing the complete population distribution of corrosion pits across the equipment surface. This dimensional expansion from point-based to field-based measurement enables comprehensive assessment of corrosion patterns, density, and progression, thereby improving measurement precision while capturing previously missed corrosion information.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection system is enhanced to perform multiple functions simultaneously: detecting individual corrosion pits, mapping their spatial distribution, analyzing population density variations, and predicting remaining useful life. This multi-functional approach ensures no aspect of corrosion is missed while maintaining inspection efficiency.
2Reliability
If equipment is removed for inspection and remediation, then thorough examination and treatment can be performed, but equipment availability and productivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables in-situ inspection and remediation where the equipment remains installed and operational. Sensors and actuators are deployed to perform corrosion assessment and treatment directly at the equipment location, eliminating the need for removal and allowing continuous operation while maintaining remediation effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary corrosion detection and assessment while the equipment is still in service, allowing remediation to be scheduled at optimal times without urgent removal. This advance detection enables planned maintenance that minimizes disruption to productivity while ensuring thorough treatment when performed.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive corrosion monitoring is implemented, then accurate service life prediction can be achieved, but system complexity and measurement requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex manual inspection methods with automated optical sensing systems that capture corrosion pit images and automatically analyze population distributions. This substitution of mechanical inspection with optical-digital measurement systems reduces operational complexity while enhancing measurement precision and enabling accurate service life prediction through computational analysis.
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
The system effectively characterizes corrosion, predicts stress concentrations, and schedules remediation actions to accurately extend the service life of equipment by reducing corrosion rates and improving operational reliability.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor 110 can include an optical sensor that measures multi-dimensional information on corrosion in the equipment
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
A corrosion maintenance scheduling and implementation system and method measure one or more characteristics 200 of corrosion in equipment 104 before and after implementation of a corrosion remediation action, determine one or more of a change in the one or more characteristics 200 of the corrosion between before and after implementation of the corrosion remediation action, one or more historical operational characteristics 200 of the equipment 104, or one or more forthcoming operational characteristics 200 of the equipment 104, and modify a schedule of the corrosion remediation action for the equipment 104 based on one or more of the one or more characteristics 200 of corrosion that are measured, the change in the one or more characteristics 200 of the corrosion, the one or more historical operational characteristics 200 of the equipment 104, and/or the one or more forthcoming operational characteristics 200 of the equipment 104.