RoboGasInspector - A Mobile Robotic System for Remote Leak Sensing
and Localization in Large Industrial Environments: Overview and First
Results
S. Soldan, G. Bonow, und A. Kroll. Proceedings of the 2012 IFAC Workshop on Automatic Control in Offshore
Oil and Gas Production, Seite 33-38. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway,, (31.05 - 01.06. 2012)
In order to automate the routine inspections in large industrial
environments a mobile robotic system is being developed in the project
RoboGasInspector. The robot’s sensor-head consists of different instruments
for remote sensing using multiple measurement principles. First results
show that passive IRthermographic imaging can be used to detect leaks
in pipes as well as liquid spills on the ground. The measurable effects
are the temperature profile disturbance due to expansion of pressured
gas and evaporative cooling, respectively. Tunable Diode Laser Absorption
Spectroscopy (TDLAS) measurement systems provide for quantitative
gas concentration measurements and feature a high sensitivity due
to the active measurement principle. On the contrary, TDLAS systems
measure just the concentration along a path at a time and require
a diffusely reflecting background. Using a Pan-Tilt Unit, objects/areas
can be scanned and discrete maps of the gas concentration can be
created. This contribution introduces the project RoboGasInspector
and presents the used measurement technology as well as first results