Underwater Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) for Performing Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE) of Submerged Pipeline Structures

Technology Category/Market

Category – Robotics, Non destructive Evaluation

Applications – Non destructive evaluation & testing, Marine, Ports & Terminals, Deep-sea Pipeline inspection, Advanced ROVs for Industrial applications

Industry – NDT, Oil & Gas, Marine, Defense

Market – The global remotely operated vehicle (ROV) market to grow from 2022 – 2030 at a CAGR of 10.50%. The ROV market’s was worth nearly USD 1.6 billion in 2022, which will likely reach USD 3.2 billion by 2030.

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Problem Statement

Recently, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) have become the go-to tool for oil and gas construction and maintenance tasks.
Since, ROV is equipped with sensors for navigation, control and external ultrasonic inspection of submerged pipe, therefore it is well suited to work in thousands of metres of water, or just a few, within the energy sector.
These ROVs can be widely implemented on mobile platforms for collecting oceanographic and geophysical data.

Technology

The technology is an underwater remotely operated vehicle to carry out a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of pipes, using circumferential guided waves along with a gripper mechanism which provides the capability of scanning a structure from a single location.
The ROV has a detachable hull with on-board cameras to provide live-streaming vision for an on-shore operator through wired cables.
Further, the ROV navigates underwater with stability-assist sensors for easy operation.
The overall ROV design (Fig.1) is compact and modular to enable up-gradation of technology and easy adaptation to more stringent operational requirements.

Key Features/Value Proposition

Total length – 700 mm
Depth range – 60-70 metres
Total mass – 21 kgs
ROV is neutrally buoyant, which avoids extra power consumption and ease in maneuvering.
Propulsion BTD 150 thrusters
Propulsion Specifications – 18 volts, maximum 2.2 kgf continuous thrust
Vision – 8MP, 1080p HD web camera
Power Source – Lipo Battery
Payload capacity – 2.5kgs.