NDT & Inspection

Ultrasonic wall thickness inspection for storage tanks - Beetle

Key applications of Beetle

Beetle inspection is an on-stream method for carrying out wall thickness measurements on storage tanks. Wall thickness

inspections are carried out regularly, in order to comply with the requirements of authorities, inspection agencies and insurance

companies. The frequency can be increased, if a reduction of wall thickness is observed during a measurement. At such times, it

can also be decided to extend the inspection, for instance by means of Mechanised Wall thickness Mapping (find more info in the

Mechanized Wall thickness Mapping folder).

Corrosion from the inside is a common cause for leaks in storage tanks. Aggressive components in stored product can affect the

tank wall. For this reason, it is necessary to measure the wall thickness in a number of places along the tank’s contour regularly.

At ground level, the results can be read from a UT device immediately. The results are stored in a computer and added to the

inspection report in the form of a diagram. This enables the client to be certain about the condition of his tank very swiftly.

ControllableAs the Beetle is equipped with two powerful, individually operated electric motors, the operator is able to steer the Beetle accurately, using a joystick.The results are transferred through a cable at ground level and shown directly on the display of the UT equipment.

PerformanceThe Beetle is a crawler with four powerful magnet wheels, with an ultrasonic probe on the underside of the small carrier. The small carrier ‘sticks’ to the tank wall and crawls straight upwards along the outside of the tank. Paint layers or welding seams are no obstacle to the Beetle. Neither do temperatures of up to 50 °C pose any problems for this small but powerful unit. With a speed of 12 metres per minute, it crawls upwards and automatically measures with a 5 mm distance interval (every 5 mm a UT measurement is made and recorded). These measurements can then be reported with a distance interval of 10, 25, 50 or 100 cm.

Cost savingsIn the past, you had to build high scaffolds or rent abseiling equipment, in order to perform manual ultrasonic measurements. This is a labour intensive and time consuming job. The Beetle developed by Applus RTD Benelux, will crawl upwards along the wall and will measure the wall thickness at great speed. You are no longer required to build scaffolds and/or rent abseiling equipment.

Applus RTDApplus RTD provides the following services as individual packages or combined to provide a total Asset Integrity Management programme.

• Advanced(non-intrusive)InspectionServices• Sub-seaInspectionServices• EngineeringDesignSolutions• RiskBasedInspectionPlanning• InspectionManagementServices• InServiceInspection• PlantLifeManagement• MetallurgicalServices.

Importantly, Applus RTD can also call upon extensive in-house expertise and resources for advanced inspection and conventional NDT, providing a total capability for management of through life plant integrity.

Applus RTD, in collaboration with our local and international partners, has extensive experience in the application of these services to a wide range of industries including:

• Oil&Gas• Petrochemical• Refining• OreProcessingandHandling• PowerGeneration.

www.ApplusRTD.com