Robotic Holiday Detection on Storage Tank Base Plates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual holiday detection in liquid petroleum storage tanks is hazardous and inefficient, as it requires human entry into dangerous environments and lacks the ability to navigate complex paths or detect obstacles automatically.
Innovation Solution
A robotic vehicle equipped with a wet sponge holiday detection system that can traverse the base plate of a storage tank, detect holidays, and mark them for repair, while avoiding obstacles and ensuring complete coverage of the area without human intervention, using a combination of wheels for movement and sensors for navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual holiday detection is performed by humans entering the tank, then holiday detection can be conducted, but human safety is compromised due to hazardous petroleum fumes and fire/explosion risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a robotic vehicle that replicates the functions of manual holiday detection without requiring human presence in the hazardous environment. The robot carries identical holiday detection apparatus (sponge, electrolytic solution, electrical contacts) and performs the same detection operations, thereby eliminating human exposure to petroleum fumes while maintaining detection reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of human operation with an automated robotic system. The robot is equipped with sensors, controllers, and automated navigation capabilities that substitute for human senses and manual operations, allowing holiday detection to proceed without human operators in the dangerous tank environment
2Reliability
If manual holiday detection is performed, then holidays can be detected, but operational efficiency is reduced due to the need for direct human intervention and subsequent separate marking operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple previously separate operations into a single integrated robotic system. The robot simultaneously performs holiday detection, location recording, and marking operations without requiring human intervention between steps. The marking apparatus is integrated onto the robot, allowing immediate marking of detected holidays rather than requiring separate marking operations later
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system operates autonomously to perform the complete holiday detection and marking workflow. The robot navigates the tank floor, detects holidays using its sensors, automatically records their locations, and applies marks without requiring human direction or intervention, thereby significantly improving operational efficiency
3Device complexity
If a single sponge is used for holiday detection, then the detection apparatus is simple, but coverage may have gaps and miss spots
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single sponge into multiple smaller sponge segments arranged in a transverse array. Each sponge segment covers a specific portion of the tank floor width, and their combined coverage ensures complete overlap across the entire path. This segmentation maintains relative simplicity while eliminating gaps that would occur with a single sponge
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-point contact detection to a distributed array of contact points across the width of the tank floor. By arranging multiple sponges transversely, the system creates coverage in the lateral dimension, ensuring that holidays anywhere across the floor width are detected as the robot moves forward
4Device complexity
If the robotic vehicle moves only in straight paths, then navigation is simple, but the vehicle cannot navigate around obstacles or ensure complete coverage of the tank base plate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic navigation capabilities that allow the robot to adapt its path in real-time. The robot can change from straight-line motion to curved or zigzag patterns when obstacles are detected, and can adjust its trajectory to ensure complete coverage of the tank floor. This dynamic adaptability maintains coverage reliability while managing navigation complexity through sensor feedback and control algorithms
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 robotic system enables safe, efficient, and automatic detection and marking of holidays on storage tank base plates, reducing human exposure to hazardous environments and ensuring thorough coverage without missing spots, even in the presence of obstacles.
Implementation Method 1
The fluid media, water or electrolytic fluid in the wet sponge fills the voids in the surface to be tested
Implementation Method 2
electrolytic fluid can flow into the holiday and to the electrically grounded metal of the base plate and close the circuit
Data Source
AI summary
A robotic holiday testing apparatus for detecting and marking holidays in the protective coating atop a metal base plate of a storage tank, including:a. a vehicle,b. a power drive unit selectively coupled to a first set of wheels to move the vehicle in the forward or backward direction, and to a second set of wheels to move the vehicle and the right or left direction,c. a holiday detection apparatus having a wettable sponge electrical contact element for establishing an electric circuit with the base plate through each of the holidays,d. a tank for containing an electrolytic fluid supplied into the wettable sponge, ande. a controller which selectively operates the power drive unit to:move the vehicle in the forward direction for selected distance, andf. to move the vehicle in the left or right direction for selected distance,the vehicle thus being movable along a path while the holiday testing apparatus thereon detects and marks holidays for subsequent repair.