Current inspection techniques for large-diameter storage tank floors require the tank to be shut down, drained of product, and cleaned prior to inspection. Prior to shutting down the tank and conducting an inspection, little information is available about the tank floor condition. In some cases, corrosion or other damage causes leaks in the floor which are not detected until product is observed on the ground outside the tank. Due to their ability to propagate long distances, guided waves can be used to inspect the entire tank floor from the edges of the structure using a real-time SHM tomography system. This system utilizes an array of ultrasonic transducers that are mounted to the chine plate outside the tank wall to periodically collect data and compare it to baseline signals. Data is used to generate two-dimensional tomographic images of thickness loss in the tank floor. NDT inspection of the chine plate and walls is also possible using Guidedwave’s MRUT scanner and guided wave phased array technologies.
