INSPECTION APPARATUS AND INSPECTION METHOD FOR BOILER FURNACE STEAM GENERATING TUBE

• Main Authors: CHO YOSHI, MURATA HIDEAKI, MATSUMOTO HIROTOSHI, IDA KEIJI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 10.09.2009
• Subjects: ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; BLASTING; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; HEATING; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; LIGHTING; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS; MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEARDIMENSIONS; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; METHODS OF STEAM GENERATION; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; STEAM BOILERS; STEAM GENERATION; TESTING; WEAPONS

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection apparatus and an inspection method for a boiler furnace steam generating tube that can accurately and efficiently inspect in a wide range the thinned state of a plurality of steam generating tubes adjacently arranged extending in a vertical direction along the internal wall surface of a boiler furnace, based on the surface shape of the steam generating tubes measured by a laser displacement sensor. SOLUTION: The inspection apparatus comprises a scanning apparatus 14 composed of posts 20 erectly fixed by magnets 18 to the surfaces of the plurality of steam generating tubes 4 extending in a vertical direction along the internal wall surface of the boiler furnace, a support frame 28 fixed to the posts 20 to support the displacement sensor 12 for generating laser irradiated to the surfaces of the steam generating tubes 4, and a moving mechanism 31 moving the displacement sensor 12 in the axial direction of the steam generating tubes 4 with respect to the support frame 28. The inspection apparatus further comprises a signal processor 16 computing the thinned quantity of each steam generating tube 4 from the difference between the cross-sectional surface shape of the steam generating tube 4 based on signals from the displacement sensor 12, and the unthinned reference shape of the steam generating tube 4 to evaluate the thinned state. COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT