Application of In-Pipe Visual Inspection Robot to Piping Internal Surface Lining

In most cases, it is difficult for inspectors to directly inspect the extent of contamination and damage to the internal surfaces of small diameter pipes, as access to the inside of these pipes is limited due to size of devices and associated in-pipe environmental conditions. Accordingly, the utilization of remote-controlled inspection technologies promises great advantages for such inspections. We thus implemented research on in-pipe remote-controlled inspection technologies, and developed a crawler-type, self-propelled travelling device. Subsequently, we used such a device for the visual inspections of the internal surfaces of the seawater piping at a nuclear power plant before and after periodical lining maintenance were conducted on this pipe, thereby allowing the schedule to be shortened by about 40%, and also permitting the cost involved to be reduces by about 30-40%. Accordingly, we feel that the adoption of this remote-controlled inspection technology per this report will bring great benefits to the user.