Method and apparatus for inspection of cooling towers
First Claim
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1. A method of inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, the method comprising:
- providing a ground penetrating radar (GPR) apparatus;
moving the GPR apparatus relative to a top surface, a bottom surface, or a side surface of the fill pack; and
processing received GPR data to form a three-dimensional plot of a location and degree of fouling within the fill pack;
wherein the step of processing the received GPR data to form the three-dimensional plot of the location and degree of fouling within the fill pack includes the step of distinguishing the fill pack from the fouling thereon; and
,wherein the GPR apparatus is configurable to identify or recognise and ignore the fill pack itself via programming of appropriate relative densities or dielectric constants for the particular materials of construction of the fill pack.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, wherein the method comprises using ground penetrating radar (GPR). The method comprises transmitting GPR to the fill pack and detecting reflected radar signals from the fill pack. A method of cleaning fouling from a cooling tower, comprising the steps of: inspecting the cooling tower fill pack with ground penetrating radar (GPR); identifying those parts of the fill pack in which unacceptable levels of fouling are present; and cleaning the parts so identified is also presented.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, the method comprising:
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providing a ground penetrating radar (GPR) apparatus; moving the GPR apparatus relative to a top surface, a bottom surface, or a side surface of the fill pack; and processing received GPR data to form a three-dimensional plot of a location and degree of fouling within the fill pack; wherein the step of processing the received GPR data to form the three-dimensional plot of the location and degree of fouling within the fill pack includes the step of distinguishing the fill pack from the fouling thereon; and
,wherein the GPR apparatus is configurable to identify or recognise and ignore the fill pack itself via programming of appropriate relative densities or dielectric constants for the particular materials of construction of the fill pack. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of cleaning fouling from a cooling tower, comprising the steps of:
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providing a ground penetrating radar (GPR) apparatus; inspecting a cooling tower fill pack of the cooling tower with GPR by moving the GPR apparatus relative to a top surface, a bottom surface, or a side surface of the fill pack; processing received GPR data to form a three-dimensional plot of a location and degree of fouling within the fill pack; identifying those parts of the fill pack in which unacceptable levels of fouling are present; and cleaning the parts so identified; wherein the step of processing the received GPR data to form the three-dimensional plot of the location and degree of fouling within the fill pack includes the step of distinguishing the fill pack from the fouling thereon; and
,wherein the GPR apparatus is configurable to identify or recognise and ignore the fill pack itself via programming of appropriate relative densities or dielectric constants for the particular materials of construction of the fill pack.
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- 12. An apparatus for inspecting cooling tower fill pack to detect the presence of fouling, the apparatus comprising a remotely operable vehicle (ROV) capable of traversing a surface of the fill pack without damage, and a ground penetrating radar (GPR) apparatus mounted on the ROV, characterized in that the GPR apparatus is configured to process received GPR data to form a three-dimensional plot of a location and degree of fouling within the fill pack and distinguish the fill pack from the fouling thereon, wherein the GPR apparatus is configurable to identify or recognise and ignore the fill pack itself via programming of appropriate relative densities or dielectric constants for the particular materials of construction of the fill pack.
Specification