Autonomous Ultrasonic Inspection Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract

In terms of safety and convenience, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) offers significant benefits when conducting remote NDT evaluations by mitigating hazards and inefficiencies associated with manned access. Traditionally, UAV remote inspections rely on high-resolution cameras, providing a visual overview of surface condition. This photogrammetric inspection, however, cannot distinguish minute discontinuities or deformations beneath a surface coating. Ultrasonic inspection is a Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) method conventionally used in corrosion mapping. Surface contacting ultrasonic transducers offer the potential for internal inspection of an industrial asset, providing enhanced structural integrity information. However, manually piloting a UAV with sufficient surface proximity to perform a detailed, contact-based examination requires a highly developed skillset and intense concentration. Limitations of payload mass and electronic interference also represent significant challenges to be overcome. Addressing such issues, this paper demonstrates the implementation of an autonomous UAV system with an integrated ultrasonic contact measurement payload. The prototype is autonomously guided and undertakes the contact thickness measurement process without manual intervention.

Internal Wind Turbine Blade Inspections Using UAVs: Analysis and Design Issues

“…Unmanned inspection platforms have been used in WT inspection as well [22,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. However, both land and air UVs tend to focus on the exterior and NDT inspections [53][54][55][56]. While exterior inspections and NDTs provide the majority of information about possible defects in WTBs, there is still a possibility of defects occurring in the interior only [57], requiring inspection from inside the turbine as well.…”

Path Planning for Indoor Contact Inspection Tasks With Uavs

“…This property makes this technology perfect for inspection tasks in big infrastructures (Duque et al, 2018). Several UAV systems for infrastructure inspection have been developed, using close remote sensing payloads, such as cameras (Seo et al, 2018) or LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors (Teng et al, 2017), or contact inspection sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors (Zhang et al, 2018). In both cases, it is needed a path planning algorithm to perform this inspection tasks autonomously.…”

Payload for Contact Inspection Tasks with UAV Systems

“…Hamaza et al developed a manipulator with two DoF installed in a quadcopter [20], which uses a Vicon motion capture system for the position control. Zhang et al have developed a UAV system similar to the previous one, but with just one DoF on a linear joint, that has a spring [21]. Albers et al developed a UAV system with a horizontal motor that pushes the system against the wall on which the contact has to be done [22].…”