To ensure the safety of spherical gas holders and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) storage tanks (hereafter called spherical storage tanks), both daily and periodic inspection are performed after the tanks become operational. One such periodic inspection involves opening the tank to check the integrity of weld lines on the inner and outer walls, but this is a costly and time-consuming task. A more suitable and efficient alternative is prescribed by standards like the Guidelines for Spherical Gas Holders published by the Japan Gas Association (hereafter called JGA Guidelines) which stipulate operational tank inspections that are conducted on the weld lines of inner and outer walls from outside the tank (that is, external defect detection) without actually opening the tank. External defect detection technologies are widely available today, but Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas and Toho Gas have jointly developed a high-speed TOFD (time of flight diffraction) mode that is quite different from the pulse reflection mode of ultrasonic defect detection testing prescribed by JGA guidelines. Along these same lines, Osaka Gas also developed an inspection robot that travels along the weld line in an effort to reduce the cost of inspections still further. This paper will show that applying this newly developed inspection mode and robot to operational tank inspections will significantly reduce inspection costs, cut inspection time and improve the work environment.


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    Title :

    Dramatic inspection cost reduction of spherical storage tanks


    Additional title:

    Reduzierung der Inspektionskosten bei kugelförmigen Tanks für Flüssigerdölgas und Gas


    Contributors:
    Ohkawa, K. (author)


    Publication date :

    2000


    Size :

    8 Seiten, 3 Bilder, 4 Tabellen


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Storage medium


    Language :

    English




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