Inspenet, July 10, 2023.
Breakthrough in the world of tank inspection!
The leading robotic tank inspection company, Square Robot, has completed the development of its latest creation: a revolutionary robot designed specifically to inspect gasoline tanks and other volatile products , as well as tanks with internal floating roofs. This innovative robot will be able to carry out these inspections autonomously, thus making it the first of its kind.
The new robot, called SR-3, is the successor to the successful SR-1, which is currently in charge of inspecting above-ground storage tanks containing highly flammable products, following the standards established by the API 653 standard.
SR-3 has been specially designed to be compatible with gasoline and other volatile products. One of its most outstanding features is its side launcher, which allows the robot to be completely submerged in the product in the tank before being thrown inside, thus avoiding any exposure to oxygen present in the vapor space.
SR-3 Features
The SR-3 features a number of standout features:
- Specialized Design: The SR-3 has been specifically designed to perform robotic inspections in service of gasoline and other volatile products, as well as tanks with internal floating roofs. It is the first robot developed with these capabilities.
- Side Launcher: One of the main features of the SR-3 is its side launcher. This mechanism allows the robot to be launched and retrieved from a tank hull hatch, thus bypassing the robot’s transit through the vapor space and immersing it directly into the tank product before launch.
- Compatibility with volatile products: The SR-3 has been designed to be compatible with gasoline and other volatile products, which makes it ideal for inspections in tanks that contain these types of substances.
- Elimination of Oxygen Exposure: By releasing directly into the product from the tank, the SR-3 prevents any potential exposure to oxygen. This is especially important, as it reduces the risks associated with the presence of oxygen in tanks with flammable products.
- In-Service Inspection: The SR-3 is designed to perform robotic inspections on tanks that are in service, meaning it can perform inspections without taking the tank out of service and without interruption to operations. You can perform UT inspections Phased Arrays (Phased Array UT) with 256-element transducers to the tank floor, corrosion detection, scan critical areas such as areas near the tank walls with an approximation of ½ “from the wall.
- High data density (18,000 data points per square foot).
- Movement autonomy within the tank and docking to return to the launcher.
These features of the SR-3 allow for efficient and safe inspection of tanks with gasoline and other volatile products, providing an innovative solution to prevent tank deactivation and reduce harmful emissions.
Attaching the SR3 to the tank’s side launcher
David Lamont, CEO of Square Robot, expressed his excitement at the completion of the SR-3, stating that this breakthrough will open the doors to inspection of a wide range of tanks, preventing them from being decommissioned and generating harmful emissions.
According to Lamont, the emissions released when removing a tank of gasoline from service are more than 5 times higher than those emitted by diesel. Square Robot customers have been looking for a solution to inspect gas tanks for some time, and the company is excited to be able to bring that solution to them in the coming months.
Square Robot, founded in 2016, is a pioneer in the field of robotic tank inspections, offering cutting-edge services around the world. Thanks to its technological development in robotics , data acquisition and processing, Square Robot is uniquely positioned to provide data-driven solutions in various industry segments and a wide range of products.
The era of robotic tank inspection has arrived!
Source and photos: https://www.squarerobots.com/next-generation
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