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Remote Controlled Climber for Inspecting Vertical Furnace Tubes

A motorized transducer carrier was designed as a means for taking ultrasonic thickness measurements in vertical visbreaker furnace tubes. This equipment was designed specifically for use on 6.625" OD tubes.

The incentives for applying this climber were:

Lower costs by eliminating the need for scaffolding.
Reduce the time required for inspection.
Achieve a more complete survey of metal loss along the length of the tubes.

The tube climber consists of a 4-wheeled, motor driven carrier, power cables, and a control unit. The carrier is equipped with a 90 volt, 0.5 hp variable speed, permanent magnet DC motor which drives a pair of rubber tired wheels through a worm gear speed reducer. Carrier travel speed is controlled by means of a stepless, solid state voltage regulator. Climbing rate can be varied from 0 to 30 feet per minute. A motor reversing switch permits up and down movement of the crawler.

The climber is equipped with a water coupled ultrasonic transducer which is positioned to measure the wall thickness of the tube along vertical paths on the fire sides of the tubes. Travel speed of the climber is controlled by the operator. Wall thickness measurements can be continuously observed on the CRT of the flaw detector while the climber travels the length of the tube. Individual spot measurements can be recorded manually or by a strip chart recorder.