JP2009236613A - Inspection apparatus of piping and inspection method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection apparatus of piping and its inspection method for simplifying a constitution, and easily measuring a thickness of the piping. <P>SOLUTION: The inspection method has: a guide rail attaching process for fixing a guide rail 12 outside the piping 11 at a fixed distance D from its outline; a thickness measurement preparing process for attaching a traveling carriage 13 to the guide rail 12, and rotatably attaching a rotating ring 14 having an attached thickness measurement sensor 15 to the traveling carriage 13 in the outer circumference direction of the piping 11; and a measurement result outputting process for moving the traveling carriage 13 along the guide rail 12, circumferentially rotating the rotating ring 14 around the axial center of the piping 11, and displaying the thickness of the piping 11 measured by the thickness measurement sensor 15 along a location of the traveling carriage 13 on the guide rail 12 and measurement locations obtained by first and second location detection sensors 16, 17 for detecting the location of the thickness measurement sensor 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to, for example, a pipe inspection apparatus that measures the thickness of a pipe constituted by one or both of a straight pipe and a bent pipe (for example, an elbow pipe) and an inspection method thereof.

Conventionally, the thickness of steel pipes gradually decreases due to wear and corrosion caused by transported materials flowing inside them, but if left unchecked, there is a risk of serious accidents. Is done regularly.
In this inspection, for example, devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are used. Specifically, a bogie is attracted and arranged on the outer peripheral surface of a pipe by a permanent magnet, the bogie is run along the circumferential direction of the pipe, and a plurality of ultrasonic probes mounted on the bogie are connected to the circumference of the pipe. It is a device that moves along the direction to measure damage to piping.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-234761 JP 2007-132713 A

However, since the carriage is configured to travel while attracting the outer circumferential surface of the pipe in the circumferential direction by magnetic force, for example, if the carriage is caused to travel on the outer circumferential surface of a bent pipe such as an elbow pipe, A part of the wheel is separated from the outer surface of the pipe, and the stability of the carriage is deteriorated, and there is a fear that the wheel falls. As described above, the cart can only measure the wall thickness of the straight pipe or the straight pipe.
Further, since the carriage travels on the outer peripheral surface of the pipe in the circumferential direction, the pipe cannot be measured continuously along the axial direction, and workability is poor.
Furthermore, since the carriage is self-propelled while adsorbing to the outer peripheral surface of a pipe made of magnetic metal, it is made of other materials, such as non-magnetic metal, ceramics, plastic, or rubber. There was also a problem that it was not possible to travel in the piping.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pipe inspection apparatus and a method for inspecting the pipe that can easily measure the thickness of the pipe with a simple configuration.

The piping inspection device according to the first invention that meets the above-mentioned object is attached to the outside of a pipe constituted by one or both of a straight pipe and a bent pipe with a certain distance from the outside line of the pipe. A fixed guide rail;
A traveling carriage attached to the guide rail and moving along the guide rail;
A rotating ring that is disposed in the outer circumferential direction of the pipe and that is rotatably provided on the traveling carriage and rotates in the circumferential direction around the axis of the pipe;
A thickness measurement sensor attached to the rotating ring and pressed against the pipe to measure the thickness;
First and second position detection sensors provided on the traveling carriage for detecting the position of the traveling carriage on the guide rail and the circumferential position of the pipe of the thickness measurement sensor;
By moving the traveling carriage along the guide rail and rotating the rotating ring, the thickness of the pipe measured by the thickness measurement sensor can be obtained by the first and second position detection sensors. Control means for displaying together with the measured position.

In the pipe inspection apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the pipe is a bent pipe, and the outer line of the pipe is a line located at the maximum radius of curvature of the pipe.
In the pipe inspection apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that one or more of the thickness measurement sensors are attached to the rotating ring.
In the pipe inspection apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, when two or more thickness measuring sensors are attached to the rotating ring, it is preferable that the thickness measuring sensors are attached at equal angles around the axis of the rotating ring.

In the piping inspection apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the rotating ring is preferably divided into two or more.
In the pipe inspection apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that fixing means for the pipe is attached to both sides or one side in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail.

The pipe inspection method according to the second aspect of the present invention is directed to a pipe having a certain distance from an outer line of the pipe outside the pipe constituted by one or both of a straight pipe and a bent pipe. A guide rail mounting process for fixing the rail;
A traveling carriage is attached to the guide rail, a thickness measurement sensor that is pressed against the pipe and measures the thickness thereof is attached to the traveling carriage, and a rotating ring disposed in the outer circumferential direction of the pipe is rotatable. A thickness measurement preparation process to be attached;
By moving the traveling carriage along the guide rail and rotating the rotating ring in the circumferential direction around the axis of the pipe, the thickness of the pipe measured by the thickness measurement sensor is A measurement result output step for displaying the position on the guide rail of the traveling carriage and the measurement position obtained by the first and second position detection sensors for detecting the position of the thickness measurement sensor in the circumferential direction of the pipe, respectively; Have

In the pipe inspection method according to the second aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the pipe is a bent pipe, and the outer line of the pipe is a line located at the maximum radius of curvature of the pipe.
In the pipe inspection method according to the second invention, in the measurement result output step, it is preferable that the entire surface of the pipe is shown in an unfolded state, and the thickness of the pipe is displayed by color.

In the pipe inspection method according to the second aspect of the present invention, two or more thickness measuring sensors are attached to the rotating ring at equal angles around the axis of the rotating ring, and the thickness measuring range in the circumferential direction of the pipe Is preferably divided into a plurality.
In the pipe inspection method according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the rotating ring is divided into two or more, and the rotating ring is divided and arranged around the outer periphery of the pipe.

The pipe inspection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and the pipe inspection method according to claims 7 to 11 include a guide rail that is fixedly attached to the outside of the pipe with a certain distance from the outside line of the pipe. The thickness measurement in the axial direction of the pipe can be easily performed by moving a traveling carriage to which a thickness measurement sensor is attached via a rotating ring along the guide rail.
Further, by installing a thickness measuring sensor on a rotating ring that is arranged in the outer circumferential direction of the pipe and that is rotatably provided on the traveling carriage and rotates in the circumferential direction around the axis of the pipe, the circumferential direction of the pipe Can be easily measured.
Thereby, the thickness measurement of piping can be easily implemented with a simple structure.

Particularly, in the pipe inspection apparatus according to claim 2 and the pipe inspection method according to claim 8, the pipe is a bent pipe, and the outer line of the pipe is a line located at the maximum curvature radius of the pipe. The guide rail is attached to the back side of the pipe. Thereby, compared with the case where a guide rail is attached to the belly side of piping, ie, the side where a curvature radius is small, the space which a traveling trolley can move can be ensured widely.
In addition, since the radius of curvature of the guide rail attached to the pipe can be made larger than the maximum radius of curvature of the pipe, the traveling carriage moving along the guide rail has a special configuration that can accommodate a small curvature radius. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly run on the guide rail with a simple configuration. Further, by increasing the radius of curvature of the guide rail, the guide rail can be bent into a smooth curve.

Since the pipe inspection apparatus according to claim 4 and the pipe inspection method according to claim 10 have two or more thickness measurement sensors attached to the rotating ring, the thickness measurement range in the circumferential direction of the pipe can be divided into a plurality. Thereby, measurement time can be shortened rather than the case where all the thickness measurements of the circumference of piping are performed with one thickness measurement sensor.
In the pipe inspection apparatus according to the fifth aspect and the pipe inspection method according to the eleventh aspect, since the rotary ring is divided into two or more parts, it is easy to mount the rotary ring around the outside of the pipe.

Since the fixing means is attached to the longitudinal direction both sides or one side of the guide rail according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the guide rail can be easily attached to the pipe.
In the pipe inspection method according to the ninth aspect, the entire surface of the pipe is shown in an unfolded state, and the thickness of the pipe is displayed in different colors, so that the portion where the thickness is reduced can be easily recognized.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 11, a pipe inspection device (hereinafter also simply referred to as an inspection device) 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached and fixed to the outside of a bent pipe (an example of a pipe) 11. A guide rail 12, a traveling carriage 13 that moves along the guide rail 12, a rotating ring 14 that is rotatably provided on the traveling carriage 13, a thickness measurement sensor 15 that is attached to the rotating ring 14, and a traveling carriage 13. The thickness of the bent pipe 11 measured by the rotary encoder (an example of the first position detection sensor) 16 and the micro encoder (an example of the second position detection sensor) 17 and the thickness measurement sensor 15 is calculated using the rotary encoder 16 and the micro encoder. And control means 18 for displaying together with the measurement position obtained by the encoder 17. This will be described in detail below.

The bent tube 11 that is a thickness measurement target is, for example, an elbow tube. The bent pipe is not limited to this, and may be a combination of these or a single piece, for example, a wave shape or a substantially wave shape, or a bent pipe.
As shown in FIG. 1, the guide rail 12 attached to the outside of the bent tube 11 is fixed with a certain distance D from the outer line of the bent tube 11. The outer line of the bent tube 11 means a line having a certain distance from the axis of the bent tube 11. In the present embodiment, the line located at the maximum radius of curvature of the bent tube 11, that is, the bent tube 11. This means a line (outermost line) L1 located on the back side. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a line positioned at the minimum radius of curvature of the bent tube 11, that is, a line L2 positioned on the ventral side of the bent tube 11, or a side of the bent tube 11, that is, the bent tube 11. The line L3 located in the middle of the back side and the ventral side may be used.

The guide rail 12 has a distance (shortest distance) D between the back surface of the guide rail 12 (the surface facing the bent tube 11) and the line L1 of the bent tube 11 in the longitudinal direction of the bent tube 11, for example, 50 mm. It is bent so as to have a constant radius of curvature within a range of 150 mm or less.
For example, the guide rail 12 is made of metal having a rectangular cross section with a thickness of 1 to 10 mm and a width of 20 to 50 mm.
The shape of the guide rail is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a square cross section, a circular cross section, an elliptical cross section, or the like, and may be a hollow shape, a plate, or a rod. The guide rail is made of, for example, metal such as iron, stainless steel, aluminum, or aluminum alloy, but reinforced plastic can also be used. Furthermore, a coating material (for example, rubber) is used on the surface of the guide rail. , Resin, etc.) may be attached.

Rail fixing portions 19 and 20 for attaching the guide rail 12 to the bent tube 11 are provided at both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 12 (only one side may be provided).
Each of the rail fixing portions 19 and 20 has an L-shaped connecting portion 21, and a guide rail 12 is attached to the distal end portion of the connecting portion 21 with a screw 22, and the proximal flat portion is A magnet (an example of a fixing means) 23 that is attracted to the iron bent tube 11 is attached by a bolt 24.
The magnet 23 has a V-shaped cross section in contact with the bent tube 11, and the two V-shaped surfaces are in contact with the surface so as to sandwich the bent tube 11. For this reason, even if the diameter of the bent tube 11 slightly changes, one type of magnet can cope with a plurality of types of bent tubes having different diameters as long as the two surfaces of the magnet 23 are in contact with the surface of the bent tube 11. .
If the bent pipe is not iron and is made of, for example, a non-magnetic metal (for example, stainless steel), ceramics, plastic, or rubber, a band or a fixing ring is used, and the rail fixing portion 19, 20 may be bound and fixed to the bent tube 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the traveling carriage 13 attached to the guide rail 12 includes a lower traveling unit 25, an upper traveling unit 26, and a traveling drive unit 27.
As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 (A), and (B), the lower traveling unit 25 has a groove-shaped lower traveling base 28 in a front sectional view arranged so as to surround the guide rail 12 from the back surface side. is doing.
In this lower traveling base 28, a pair of traveling roller shafts 29 whose axis centers are arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 12 are provided rotatably with a space therebetween. 29 is provided with a pair of traveling rollers 30 that come into contact with both sides of the back surface of the guide rail 12 in the width direction.
In addition, a guide roller shaft 31 is provided upright on both sides in the width direction of the guide rail 12 in the lower traveling base 28, and the guide rail 12 is connected to the guide roller shaft 31 via a bearing 32. A guide roller 33 that is sandwiched and contacted from the width direction is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 </ b> A, and 6 </ b> B, the upper traveling unit 26 is attached to the upper side of the lower traveling base 28 with screws 34 so as to cover the surface side of the guide rail 12. have.
The upper traveling base 35 is provided with a pair of traveling roller shafts 36 whose axial centers are arranged orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 12 with a space therebetween. A pair of running rollers 37 that are in contact with both sides of the surface of the rail 12 in the width direction are provided via bearings 38.
As shown in FIG. 1, the traveling roller 30 of the lower traveling unit 25 and the traveling roller 37 of the upper traveling unit 26 are located at different positions in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 12 (in this embodiment, the traveling roller 30 Although the traveling roller 37 is disposed on the front side and the rear side in the traveling direction), the same position may be used.
With this configuration, the travel roller 30 of the lower travel unit 25, the guide roller 33, and the travel roller 37 of the upper travel unit 26 are in contact with the back surface, the side surface, and the front surface of the guide rail 12, respectively. The traveling carriage 13 can be moved smoothly along the longitudinal direction of 12.

A rotating shaft 39 is erected on a side portion in the upper traveling base 35, and a mounting table 40 to which the rotary encoder 16 is attached is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft 39 via a bearing 41. It has been. The rotary encoder 16 is housed in the encoder case 42.
Here, the upper travel base 35 and the mounting table 40 are connected by a tension spring 43, and in a free state, the mounting table 40 is biased toward the center position in the width direction of the guide rail 12 around the rotation shaft 39. Has been.
The input shaft 44 of the rotary encoder 16 disposed on the mounting table 40 is provided so as to protrude below the mounting table 40 via a bearing 45, and is disposed on the side of the guide rail 12. A distance measuring roller 46 that contacts the side surface of the guide rail 12 is attached to the input shaft 44.
Thereby, when the traveling carriage 13 moves along the guide rail 12, the distance measuring roller 46 is always in contact with the side surface of the guide rail 12 by the force of the tension spring 43. Is input to the rotary encoder 16, and the travel distance of the traveling carriage 13 can be measured.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 6 (A) and 6 (B), a casing 47 of the travel drive unit 27 is attached to the upper side of the upper travel base 35.
In the casing 47, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, a drive motor 48 for moving the traveling carriage 13, a drive roller 49 that contacts the surface of the guide rail 12, and a drive motor 48 A speed reduction means 50 for connecting the drive roller 49 is provided. Here, the speed reduction means 50 is connected to a motor spur gear 52 provided on the output shaft 51 of the drive motor 48, an axle spur gear 53 that is screwed to the motor spur gear 52, and the axle spur gear 53. The worm wheel 55 is rotatably supported on the casing 47 via a bearing 54, and the worm gear 56 is screwed into the worm wheel 55. The drive roller 49 is attached to a rotating shaft 58 to which a worm gear 56 is attached and which is rotatably supported by a casing 47 via a bearing 57.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, 7 </ b> B and 7 </ b> C, a set shaft 61 erected on the upper traveling base 35 is inserted into the hole 60 of the guide portion 59 provided at the upper end portion of the casing 47. The casing 47 is attached to the upper traveling base 35 so as to be movable up and down.
A stopper 62 having a fixed height position is attached to the lower side of the set shaft 61, and a compression spring 63 is attached between the stopper 62 and the guide part 59 of the casing 47. A lever 64 is rotatably provided at the upper end of the set shaft 61 protruding from the lever.
Note that the lever 64 is tilted to the upper surface side of the casing 47 or brought into an upright state so that the lever 47 is pressed against the upper traveling base 35 by using a lever eccentric cam, or the pressure is released. I can do it.

With this configuration, when the lever 64 is tilted toward the upper surface side of the casing 47, the casing 47 is pressed against the upper surface side of the upper traveling base 35, so that the compression spring 63 contracts and the drive roller 49 is moved toward the guide rail 12. Can be maintained in contact with the surface. Thus, by driving the drive motor 48, the drive roller 49 rotates and the traveling carriage 13 can be moved along the guide rail 12.
On the other hand, when the lever 64 is set upright with respect to the casing 47, the compression spring 63 becomes free, the casing 47 is separated from the upper surface of the upper traveling base 35, and the driving roller 49 is separated from the surface of the guide rail 12. The state can be maintained. Accordingly, when the traveling carriage 13 is attached to the guide rail 12, the driving roller 49 can be prevented from projecting toward the guide rail 12 with respect to the traveling roller 37 of the upper traveling section 26. The installation work is good.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 8 </ b> A to 8 </ b> C, a frame 66 of the ring rotation driving unit 65 is attached to the lower side of the lower traveling base 28.
A rotating shaft 67 arranged in the same direction as the axis of the bent tube 11 is attached to the frame 66 through bearings 68 and 69 provided at the base and the center of the frame 66 so as to be rotatable. A miter gear 70 is provided at the center of the rotary shaft 67, and a drive spur gear 71 is attached to the tip thereof.
A drive motor 73 having a miter gear 72 attached to the output shaft and a micro-encoder 17 having a miter gear 74 attached to the input shaft are arranged on both sides of the miter gear 70 attached to the rotary shaft 67. . The drive motor 73 and the microencoder 17 are housed in cases 75 and 76, respectively.
Since these miter gears 70, 72, and 74 are screwed together with the miter gear 70 as the center, the output of the drive motor 73 rotates the rotary shaft 67 via the miter gear 72 and the rotation angle of the miter gear 74 is reduced. To the micro-encoder 17.

Guide rollers 77 and 78 arranged at intervals in the width direction of the guide rail 12 are rotatably provided at the center of the frame 66. A fixed plate 79 that is in a suspended state is provided at the front portion of the frame 66, and a guide roller that is disposed below the fixed plate 79 with a gap in the width direction of the guide rail 12. 80 and 81 are rotatably provided.
Accordingly, the guide rollers 80 and 81 are disposed below the guide rollers 77 and 78.
Here, the rotation centers of the guide rollers 77, 78, 80, 81 are arranged in parallel, and the interval between the guide roller 77 and the guide roller 80 and the interval between the guide roller 78 and the guide roller 81 are the same. ing. These intervals can be adjusted by two compression springs 82 provided on the fixed plate 79.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 8B, the rotating ring 14 is attached to the ring rotation driving unit 65.
As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the rotating ring 14 is arranged in the outer circumferential direction of the bent tube 11, and has a circular guide ring having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the bent tube 11. 83 and a circular rack gear 84. On one side of the guide ring 83, one side of the rack gear 84 is integrally connected by a screw 85 with the same axial center.
The guide ring 83 is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the guide roller 77 and the guide roller 80 of the ring rotation driving unit 65 and between the guide roller 78 and the guide roller 81 from the width direction thereof. . The rack gear 84 is disposed so as to be screwed to the drive spur gear 71 of the ring rotation drive unit 65.

Each of the guide ring 83 and the rack gear 84 is divided into two parts around the axis thereof, and the division positions are shifted. For this reason, the rotating ring 14 can be easily formed in an annular shape by overlapping the shifted portions of the guide ring 83 and the rack gear 84 and connecting them with the fixing screw 86.
As described above, the rotation ring 14 is divided into two or more with the axis of the rotation ring 14 as the center, thereby making it easy to attach the rotation ring 14 to the ring rotation drive unit 65 and to place the rotation ring 14 on the bent pipe 11. In addition, since it is not necessary to carry the rotating ring 14 in an annular shape, workability can be improved. The rotating ring may not be divided, and may be divided into three or more according to the outer diameter of the bent tube 11 or the like. Furthermore, the division of the rotating ring is performed at an equal angle around the axis of the rotating ring, but a different angle may be used.
Thus, the guide ring 83 can be supported by the guide rollers 77, 78, 80, 81 in a rotatable manner with respect to the traveling carriage 13, so that the rack gear 84 is rotated by the drive spur gear 71 and the rotating ring 14 is bent. It can rotate in the circumferential direction around the axis of the tube 11. As long as the measurement error does not occur, the rotation center of the rotating ring 14 and the axis of the bent tube 11 do not have to coincide completely.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 9A, a thickness measuring sensor 15 is attached to the surface of the rack gear 84 of the rotating ring 14 so as to be pressed against the surface of the bent tube 11 and measure the thickness thereof. .
As shown in FIGS. 10A to 10D, the thickness measurement sensor 15 has an attachment portion 87, and the attachment side flat portion of the attachment portion 87 is attached and fixed to the surface of the rack gear 84. A base portion of a swing pin 89 inserted through a compression spring 88 is attached to a projecting portion of the mounting portion 87 opposite to the mounting side, and a swing shaft 90 is attached to the tip of the swing pin 89. A probe holder 91 is attached through the connector.
Accordingly, the probe holder 91 can be moved up and down with respect to the attachment portion 87 and can be swung back and forth and left and right by the swing pin 89.

An ultrasonic probe (hereinafter also referred to as an ultrasonic sensor or simply a probe) 92 is attached to the probe holder 91 via a compression spring 93 so as to be movable up and down. A plurality of (four in the present embodiment) ball bearings 94 are attached to the probe holder 91 so as to surround the ultrasonic probe 92, and the ultrasonic probe 92 is attached to the bent tube 11. It can move smoothly without getting caught on the surface.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 9 (A), two thickness measurement sensors 15 shown above are attached to the rack gear 84, and these two are equiangular about the axis of the rack gear 84. One unit is arranged (180 degrees), that is, at a position facing the back side and the abdomen side of the bent tube 11 one by one. The number of thickness measurement sensors 15 attached to the rack gear 84 may be one, or three or more. Further, when two or more thickness measuring sensors 15 are attached to the rack gear 84, they are preferably attached at an equal angle around the axis of the rack gear 84, but may be at different angles.

As shown in FIG. 11, the pipe inspection apparatus 10 has a control means 18.
The control means 18 includes a 1ch ultrasonic P / R, a 2ch ultrasonic P / R, a microcomputer, a DC power supply (12V) connected to an AC 100V power supply, and a computer.
Here, both the 1ch ultrasonic P / R and the 2ch ultrasonic P / R are pulsar receivers. The 1ch ultrasonic wave P / R and the 2ch ultrasonic wave P / R are connected to the casing 47 of the traveling drive unit 27 via cables 96 and 97, respectively, as shown in FIG. The connected cables 98 and 99 are connected to an ultrasonic probe (1ch probe, 2ch probe) 92 of the thickness measurement sensor 15 disposed on the back side and the abdomen side of the bent tube 11.

The microcomputer has a function of converting analog signals of the rotary encoder 16 of the travel drive unit 27 and the micro encoder 17 of the ring rotation drive unit 65 into digital signals. Further, based on the output signal of the rotary encoder 16 of the travel drive unit 27, the function of transmitting an operation signal and a stop signal to the drive motor 48 and the output signal of the micro encoder 17 of the ring rotation drive unit 65 are transmitted to the drive motor 73. It also has a function of transmitting an operation signal and a stop signal.
The DC power supply supplies power to the above-described 1ch ultrasonic P / R, 2ch ultrasonic P / R, and microcomputer.
As shown in FIG. 7A, the microcomputer inputs and outputs signals of the rotary encoder 16 and the drive motor 48 of the travel drive unit 27 via the cable 100 connected to the casing 47 of the travel drive unit 27. The power supply to the drive motor 48 is controlled, and the signal input / output of the micro encoder 17 and the drive motor 73 of the ring rotation drive unit 65 is connected via the cable 101 connected to the casing 47 of the travel drive unit 27; Control of power supply to the drive motor 73 is performed.

Further, the microcomputer is connected to a computer having a display.
This computer inputs measurement conditions in order to move the traveling carriage 13 along the guide rail 12 by the microcomputer and to rotate the rotating ring 14 by the ring rotation driving unit 65. Further, the thickness of the bent tube 11 measured by the ultrasonic probe 92 of the thickness measuring sensor 15 is also displayed on the display together with the measurement positions obtained by the rotary encoder 16 and the micro encoder 17. In this display, the entire surface of the bent tube 11 is shown in an unfolded state on the computer display, and the thickness of the bent tube 11 is displayed in different colors, but the present invention is not limited to this.
As described above, by configuring the pipe inspection device 10, it is possible to easily measure the thickness of the bent tube 11, which has conventionally been difficult to measure, with a simple device configuration.

Next, a pipe inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the ultrasonic probe 92 is attached to the attachment portion 87, and its thickness is calibrated.
Then, after selecting the rotating ring 14 having an inner diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the bent pipe 11 and attaching the mounting portion 87 to the rack gear 84 of the rotating ring 14, the rotating ring 14 is divided into two. The divided guide ring 83 on one side is disposed between the guide roller 77 and the guide roller 80 of the ring rotation driving unit 65 and between the guide roller 78 and the guide roller 81. At this time, the divided rack gear 84 on one side is also arranged so as to be screwed to the drive spur gear 71 of the ring rotation drive unit 65.

Next, the guide rail 12 having a curvature radius corresponding to the maximum curvature radius of the line L <b> 1 located on the back side of the bending pipe 11 is selected, and the rail fixing portions 19 and 20 are attached to both sides of the guide rail 12. The guide rail 12 is attached and fixed to the back side of the bent tube 11 by bringing the magnets 23 of the rail fixing portions 19 and 20 into contact with the surface of the bent tube 11. This is possible because the bent tube 11 is made of iron, but when the bent tube is not made of iron, the magnet 23 may be bound to the bent tube using a band or the like.
Thus, the guide rail 12 can be fixed to the bent tube 11 with a certain distance D from the line L1 on the back side of the bent tube 11 (the guide rail attaching step).

Subsequently, only the rail fixing portion 19 (which may be the rail fixing portion 20) on one side is removed from the guide rail 12, and an opening formed between the lower traveling portion 25 and the upper traveling portion 26 of the traveling carriage 13 is formed. After being inserted into the guide rail 12, the guide rail 12 is attached to the rail fixing portion 19 again. When the traveling carriage 13 is attached to the guide rail 12, the lever 64 provided in the traveling drive unit 27 of the traveling carriage 13 is set upright with respect to the casing 47, and the drive roller 49 is in a free state. After the mounting, the lever 64 is tilted with respect to the upper surface of the casing 47 and the drive roller 49 is pressed against the surface of the guide rail 12.
Thereby, the traveling carriage 13 can be movably attached to the guide rail 12 that is attached and fixed to the outside of the bent pipe 11.

Next, the other side of the divided rotating ring 14 is arranged so as to surround the abdomen side of the bent tube 11 from the outside, and the shifted part of the guide ring 83 and the rack gear 84 is the above-described one side guide ring 83. The rotating ring 14 in a state of being overlapped and separated from the rack gear 84 is connected by a fixing screw 86 to form the rotating ring 14 in an annular shape.
As a result, the rotating ring 14 disposed in the outer circumferential direction of the bent tube 11 is rotatably attached to the traveling carriage 13 and the ultrasonic probe 92 of the thickness measuring sensor 15 is pressed against the surface of the bent tube 11. be able to. Note that one side of the divided rotating ring 14 is attached to the ring rotation driving unit 65 in advance, but may be attached to the ring rotation driving unit 65 after the traveling carriage 13 is attached to the guide rail 12.

Then, after the traveling carriage 13 is moved to the measurement start position of the bent tube 11, as shown in FIG. 7A, the cables 98 and 99 connected to the ultrasonic probe 92 of the thickness measurement sensor 15 and The cable 101 connected to the ring rotation drive unit 65 and the cables 96, 97, 100 connected to the control means 18 are connected to the casing 47 of the travel drive unit 27, respectively.
Thus, after the connection of each cable 96-101 is complete | finished, the control means 18 is operated and various operation | movement confirmation of the piping inspection apparatus 10 is performed. Specifically, whether or not the traveling carriage 13 smoothly travels along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 12 is determined by the ring rotation driving unit 65 so that the rotating ring 14 moves around the outside of the bending pipe 11 and the axis of the bending pipe 11. It is confirmed whether to rotate (or rotate) in the range of 180 degrees around the center.
When these operation confirmations are completed, the thickness of the bent tube 11 is measured (the thickness measurement preparation step).

When measuring the thickness of the bent pipe 11, measurement conditions are input to the computer of the control means 18, the drive motor 48 is driven based on the output from the rotary encoder 16 of the travel drive unit 27, and the travel carriage 13 is guided to the guide rail 12. Are moved at a predetermined pitch (for example, in a range of 0.5 to 5 mm). At this time, every time the traveling carriage 13 moves the guide rail 12 by a predetermined pitch, the control means 18 drives the drive motor 73 on the basis of the output from the micro encoder 17 of the ring rotation drive unit 65, and the rotation ring 14 is moved. An ultrasonic waveform is recorded at a predetermined pitch (for example, in a range of 0.5 to 5 mm) by rotating in the circumferential direction around the axis of the bent tube 11.
Two thickness measuring sensors 15 are attached to the rotating ring 14 at equal angles around the axis of the rotating ring 14. For this reason, the thickness measurement range in the circumferential direction of the bent tube 11 by each thickness measuring sensor 15 is a range of ± 90 degrees (a range of 180 degrees in total) around the line L1 on the back side of the bent tube 11, and the bent tube 11 Can be divided into two in a range of ± 90 degrees (a total range of 180 degrees) with the line L2 on the ventral side as a center, and the measurement time can be shortened.

At this time, an ultrasonic wave is emitted from the ultrasonic probe 92 of each thickness measuring sensor 15 to detect a reflected echo (hereinafter also referred to as a reflective echo), and its position and thickness are calculated by calculation, and the bent tube is obtained. 11 is a development view of a two-dimensional plane, and the distribution state is shown by being color-coded for each predetermined thickness range. Hereinafter, this method will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 12, measurement conditions are input to the computer of the control means 18 by the method described above (step S1), and measurement by each thickness measurement sensor 15 is started (step S2). Recording is performed (step S3). The measurement data includes the detected reflected echo, the counts of the rotary encoder 16 and the micro encoder 17, that is, the axial direction (X direction) and the circumferential direction (Y direction) of the bent tube 11 of the ultrasonic probe 92. It is a movement distance.
Thereby, the thickness for every position of the bending pipe 11 is calculated (step S4).

The thickness of the bent tube 11 (also reflected echo) measured by the ultrasonic probe 92 of the thickness measurement sensor 15 is measured by the rotary encoder 16 and the micro encoder 17 (hereinafter also referred to as position information). ) On the computer display (status display: step S5). At this time, by creating a thickness color-coded distribution diagram in which the thickness of the bent tube 11 is divided into a plurality of ranges and displayed by color, for example, detection of a thinned portion can be facilitated. This thickness color-coded distribution diagram is created separately for the 1ch probe and 2ch probe of the ultrasonic probe 92, but even if the 1ch probe and 2ch probe are created together, Good. Moreover, although it is preferable to create the thickness color-coded distribution map in real time while measuring the bent tube 11, it may be performed after the measurement is completed. Thus, when it is performed in real time, the progress of measurement and the measurement result can be easily confirmed.
If there is no problem that the obtained result is extremely strange, for example, the status display is terminated (step S6), this data is saved in a file (step S7), and the measurement is terminated. To do. On the other hand, if there is a problem as described above, the process returns to step S3 again, and steps S3 to S5 are repeated until necessary data is obtained.

Next, a method for displaying various information of the bent tube 11 using this file will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the above-described file is read (step S8), and a thickness color distribution map of the bent tube 11 in which the 1ch probe and the 2ch probe are combined is created (step S9).
Then, various information of the bent tube 11 is displayed on the display (step S10). This information includes, for example, the above-described reflection echo, position information, cross-sectional view of the bent tube 11, and thickness color distribution map (with or without correction).
As described above, when various information of the bent tube 11 is displayed on the display and the information desired to be changed is changed, the display mode is switched to return to step S9, and the information is displayed again in step S10. Further, when displaying various information of other bent pipes 11, in order to reselect a file, the process returns to step S8, and steps S9 and S10 are sequentially performed (step S11).
Then, when the confirmation of the information is finished, the process is finished.

It should be noted that when creating a thickness color-coded distribution diagram of the bent tube 11 in which the 1ch probe and the 2ch probe of the bent tube 11 are combined, it is necessary to create a development view of the bent tube 11.
Here, when the bending tube 11 is created without correcting the curvature, the positions of the bending tube 11 in the axial direction (X direction) and the circumferential direction (Y direction) are intuitively easy to understand. Since the distance on the ventral side is short with respect to the back side, the display approaches the ventral side of the bent tube 11 and is enlarged and displayed in the X direction. As a result, the area where the thickness is reduced is displayed horizontally, and a judgment different from the actual situation is made.
However, when it is created by correcting the curvature of the bent tube 11, this problem is solved, and the thickness distribution of the bent tube 11 can be seen in a shape that matches the reality. Here, when displaying the cross-sectional view of the bent tube 11, it is easy to grasp the cross-sectional position of the bent tube 11 by simultaneously positioning the curvature-corrected line on the developed view of the bent tube 11.
The presence / absence of curvature correction is switched and displayed according to the use state of the thickness color-coded distribution diagram.

Next, a method for creating a development view of the bent pipe 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15.
As described above, the thickness measurement of the bent tube 11 is performed by rotating the ultrasonic probe 92 in the circumferential direction of the bent tube 11 around the axis of the bent tube 11 and measuring the continuous thickness of the bent tube 11 in the circumferential direction. After the measurement, the ultrasonic probe 92 is repeatedly moved in the axial direction of the bent tube 11 at a constant pitch.
For this reason, when measuring the total thickness of the 90-degree bend shown in FIG. 14, the moving pitch of the inner ultrasonic probe is (F−d / 2) / (F + d / 2) of the outer moving pitch. ) Times smaller. Note that F is the distance from one end surface of the bent tube to the axial center position of the other end surface, and d is the outer diameter of the bent tube.

Therefore, when displaying the thickness measurement result in the development drawing by color, if the development view of the bent pipe is to be displayed in a rectangular plane, if there is a thinning part of the same size on the back side and the original side of the bent pipe, The abdomen is displayed as if it is a larger thinned part than the dorsal side.
Therefore, the radius of curvature at each position in the circumferential direction is obtained and a development view of the bent tube is created so that the same evaluation can be performed on the back side and the ventral side of the bent tube.
In the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS), as shown in FIG. 14, the dimension of a 90-degree bent pipe is defined by an outer diameter d and a distance F from the center of the bent pipe to the end face.
At this time, in the cross section of the bent tube, the circumferential distance y from the back side O to P (arbitrary position) is expressed by the equation (1).
y = πd (180 ° −θ) / 360 ° (1)

Further, the radius of curvature R of the bent pipe at P can be obtained by equation (2).
R = F− (d · cos θ) / 2 (2)
Thereby, the movement pitch of the probe at P is R / (F + d / 2) times the movement pitch at the back side O, and a development view shown in FIG. 15 can be created. This development view is a development view of a bent pipe of “90 ° elbow 150A long” (d = 165.2 mm, F = 228.6 mm).
Then, the thickness measurement result is displayed in different colors with respect to the developed view thus created.
As described above, the bending tube 11 is developed by the line L2 of the bending tube 11, but may be performed by another line L1 or L3 of the bending tube 11 (the measurement result output step).

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment, and the matters described in the scope of claims. Other embodiments and modifications conceivable within the scope are also included. For example, the case where the piping inspection device and the inspection method of the present invention are configured by combining a part or all of the above-described embodiments and modifications is also included in the scope of the right of the present invention.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the case where a curved pipe was measured using the piping inspection apparatus was demonstrated, even if it is a straight pipe (straight pipe), if a guide rail is made straight, it will measure. It is possible to do. The piping inspection method in this case may be the same method as in the above embodiment. Note that the pipe may be composed of both a bent pipe and a straight pipe.

It is explanatory drawing of the use condition of the inspection apparatus of piping which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a partial front sectional view of the inspection device of the same piping. It is a fragmentary sectional side view of the lower traveling part of the traveling trolley of the inspection device of the piping. (A), (B) is the partial plane sectional view and the partial front sectional view of the lower traveling part of the traveling cart of the inspection device of the same piping, respectively. It is a fragmentary sectional side view of the upper traveling part of the traveling cart of the inspection device for the piping. (A), (B) is the partial plane sectional view and partial front sectional view of the upper traveling part of the traveling carriage of the inspection device of the same piping, respectively. (A)-(C) are the partial plane sectional views, partial front sectional views, and partial side sectional views, respectively, of the traveling drive unit of the traveling carriage of the inspection device for the same pipe. (A)-(C) is a partial plane sectional view, a partial front sectional view, and a partial side sectional view, respectively, of a ring rotation driving unit of the inspection device for the same pipe. (A), (B) is the front view and side view of a rotation ring of the inspection apparatus of the same piping, respectively. (A)-(D) are the top view, front view, side view, and partial side view of the thickness measurement sensor of the inspection apparatus of the same piping, respectively. It is explanatory drawing of the inspection apparatus of the same piping. It is a flowchart of the data processing by the inspection apparatus of the same piping. It is a flowchart for displaying the various information of a bent pipe from the data processed by the inspection apparatus of the same pipe. It is explanatory drawing for creating the expanded view of a bending pipe. It is explanatory drawing of the expanded view of the produced bent pipe.

Explanation of symbols

10: piping inspection device, 11: bent pipe (pipe), 12: guide rail, 13: traveling carriage, 14: rotating ring, 15: thickness measurement sensor, 16: rotary encoder (first position detection sensor), 17 : Micro-encoder (second position detection sensor), 18: Control means, 19, 20: Rail fixing part, 21: Connection part, 22: Screw, 23: Magnet (fixing means), 24: Bolt, 25: Lower traveling Part: 26: upper travel part, 27: travel drive part, 28: lower travel base, 29: travel roller shaft, 30: travel roller shaft, 31: guide roller shaft, 32: bearing, 33: guide roller, 34: screw, 35: upper traveling base, 36: traveling roller shaft, 37: traveling roller, 38: bearing, 39: rotating shaft, 40: mounting table, 41: bearing, 42: encoder case, 43 Tension spring, 44: input shaft, 45: bearing, 46: distance measuring roller, 47: casing, 48: drive motor, 49: drive roller, 50: reduction means, 51: output shaft, 52: motor spur gear, 53 : Spur gear for axle, 54: bearing, 55: worm wheel, 56: worm gear, 57: bearing, 58: rotating shaft, 59: guide portion, 60: hole, 61: set shaft, 62: stop portion, 63: compression Spring, 64: Lever, 65: Ring rotation drive unit, 66: Frame, 67: Rotating shaft, 68, 69: Bearing, 70: Miter gear, 71: Drive spur gear, 72: Miter gear, 73: Drive motor, 74: Miter gear 75, 76: Case, 77, 78: Guide roller, 79: Fixed plate, 80, 81: Guide roller, 82: Compression spring, 83: Guide ring, 84: Gear: 85: screw, 86: fixing screw, 87: mounting portion, 88: compression spring, 89: swing pin, 90: swing shaft, 91: probe holder, 92: ultrasonic probe, 93: Compression spring, 94: ball bearing, 96 to 101: cable

Claims (11)

A guide rail that is attached and fixed to the outside of a pipe constituted by one or both of a straight pipe and a bent pipe with a certain distance from the outer line of the pipe;
A traveling carriage attached to the guide rail and moving along the guide rail;
A rotating ring that is disposed in the outer circumferential direction of the pipe and that is rotatably provided on the traveling carriage and rotates in the circumferential direction around the axis of the pipe;
A thickness measurement sensor attached to the rotating ring and pressed against the pipe to measure the thickness;
First and second position detection sensors provided on the traveling carriage for detecting the position of the traveling carriage on the guide rail and the circumferential position of the pipe of the thickness measurement sensor;
By moving the traveling carriage along the guide rail and rotating the rotating ring, the thickness of the pipe measured by the thickness measurement sensor can be obtained by the first and second position detection sensors. And a control means for displaying together with the measured position. 2. The pipe inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pipe is a bent pipe, and an outer line of the pipe is a line located at a maximum curvature radius of the pipe. 3. The pipe inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the thickness measurement sensors are attached to the rotating ring. 4. 4. The pipe inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when two or more of the thickness measurement sensors are attached to the rotating ring, the thickness measuring sensors are attached at equal angles around the axis of the rotating ring. Inspection equipment for piping. The piping inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rotating ring is divided into two or more. The pipe inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a fixing means for the pipe is attached to both sides or one side in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail. apparatus. A guide rail mounting step of fixing the guide rail to the outside of the pipe constituted by either one or both of the straight pipe and the bent pipe and having a certain distance from the outer line of the pipe;
A traveling carriage is attached to the guide rail, a thickness measurement sensor that is pressed against the pipe and measures the thickness thereof is attached to the traveling carriage, and a rotating ring disposed in the outer circumferential direction of the pipe is rotatable. A thickness measurement preparation process to be attached;
By moving the traveling carriage along the guide rail and rotating the rotating ring in the circumferential direction around the axis of the pipe, the thickness of the pipe measured by the thickness measurement sensor is A measurement result output step for displaying the position on the guide rail of the traveling carriage and the measurement position obtained by the first and second position detection sensors for detecting the position of the thickness measurement sensor in the circumferential direction of the pipe, respectively; A method for inspecting piping characterized by comprising: 8. The pipe inspection method according to claim 7, wherein the pipe is a bent pipe, and an outer line of the pipe is a line located at a maximum curvature radius of the pipe. The pipe inspection method according to any one of claims 7 and 8, wherein in the measurement result output step, the entire surface of the pipe is shown in an unfolded state, and the thickness of the pipe is color-coded and displayed. Inspection method for piping. 10. The pipe inspection method according to claim 7, wherein two or more thickness measuring sensors are attached to the rotating ring at equal angles around the axis of the rotating ring. A pipe inspection method characterized by dividing a circumferential thickness measurement range into a plurality. The piping inspection method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the rotating ring is divided into two or more, and the rotating ring is divided and arranged around the outer periphery of the piping. Inspection method for piping characterized by

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