Non-contact Pipe Flaw Detection Tracking Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional non-contact type flaw detection tracking devices for pipes face challenges in maintaining high tracking accuracy due to operational delays and limitations in handling rotational speed, especially at pipe ends, leading to reduced efficiency and cumbersome maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A non-contact type flaw detection tracking device utilizing a combination of non-contact displacement gauges and a positioning controller to accurately track the pipe's rotation by predicting displacement and adjusting the flaw detecting sensor's position, allowing it to maintain constant relative positions without mechanical contact, even at pipe ends.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a contact type tracking device is used to maintain constant relative position between the pipe and flaw detecting sensor, then tracking accuracy is improved, but the contact member is liable to separate from the pipe at high rotational speeds and requires cumbersome maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical contact type tracking device with a non-contact type tracking device that uses optical fields (laser beams) to track the pipe's position and displacement. This eliminates the contact member that separates at high speeds while maintaining tracking accuracy through optical measurement of the pipe's circumferential and radial displacements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an optical field (laser beam) as an intermediary between the tracking system and the pipe. The laser beam measures the pipe's position without physical contact, serving as a mediator that enables accurate tracking without the mechanical contact issues.
2Productivity
If the rotational speed of the pipe is increased to improve flaw detecting efficiency, then productivity is improved, but the contact member separates from the pipe causing degradation of tracking accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical contact tracking system with a non-contact optical tracking system that can accurately measure pipe displacement at high rotational speeds without the contact member separation problem, enabling high productivity while maintaining tracking accuracy.
3Speed
If a non-contact type displacement gauge is integrated with the flaw detecting sensor for immediate position control, then tracking response is improved, but operational delay in the servo mechanism reduces tracking accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent measures the pipe's circumferential displacement and radial displacement using non-contact displacement gauges before the flaw detection process, and uses these pre-measured displacement values to calculate and compensate for position changes. This preliminary measurement approach avoids the operational delay problem of real-time servo control while maintaining tracking accuracy.
4Adaptability or versatility
If manual ultrasonic testing or magnetic particle testing is performed at the pipe end to detect flaws, then detection coverage is improved, but the work becomes cumbersome and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the non-contact tracking device universally applicable to the entire pipe including the pipe end, by using optical fields that can measure displacement without physical contact. This eliminates the need for separate manual testing methods at the pipe end, achieving both complete detection coverage and high efficiency through a single automated system.
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 solution enables high-accuracy tracking of pipes over their entire length, including ends, without the need for contact members, enhancing efficiency and reducing maintenance, while allowing for accurate detection of flaws across the entire pipe surface.
Implementation Method 1
at least one non-contact type displacement gauge for measuring displacement at the outer surface of the pipe or tube in a non-contact state
Data Source
AI summary
A tracking device is provided with a non-contact type displacement gauge, a positioner which moves a flaw detecting sensor within a plane perpendicular to an axial direction of a pipe or tube, and a positioning controller which controls the positioner. The positioning controller predicts a time until a portion of the pipe or tube whose displacement is measured by the displacement gauge reaches a predetermined position on a straight line extending in a Z-axis direction through a rotational center of the pipe or tube on the basis of the positional relationship between the displacement gauge and the flaw detecting sensor and a rotational speed of the pipe or tube; controls the positioner on the basis of the displacement measured by the displacement gauge and an operational delay time of the positioner in such a manner that the relative position of the flaw detecting sensor to the pipe or tube after the lapse of the predicted time becomes substantially constant in the Z-axis direction; and moves the flaw detecting sensor along the Z-axis direction. The positioning controller performs the same control in an X-axis direction.