JP5662678B2 - Pipe thickness measuring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pipe wall thickness measuring device that measures the wall thickness of a pipe provided in a boiler or the like with an ultrasonic probe (probe).

  Various measurements, tests, and the like are performed in the regular inspection of the boiler, and one of them is an ultrasonic flaw detection inspection for detecting a thinning or cracking of a pipe. For example, the thickness (pipe thickness) of a pipe is measured by an ultrasonic probe, and the situation or tendency of thinning of various pipes is grasped (pipe thickness measurement). This measurement makes it possible to determine whether or not the pipe has sufficient strength or durability, so that maintenance work such as replacement or reinforcement of the pipe can be performed before an accident such as blasting occurs. It becomes possible.

  By the way, the superheater provided in the boiler is composed of a large number of superheater tubes. These superheater tubes are not only densely arranged at a narrow interval, but also arranged in a folded structure such as a zigzag folded structure. It is often done. In such a dense tube group, it is usually difficult to secure a sufficient working space for ultrasonic flaw detection. Therefore, only flaws that are within the reach of the inspection engineer can be manually detected (inspection engineer). Inspection by ultrasonic flaw detection by manual scanning) is performed exclusively.

  In view of this, various techniques have been proposed that enable pipe thickness measurement even for pipes that are beyond the reach of an inspection engineer, regardless of whether they are manual flaw detection or automatic flaw detection.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a telescopic operation shaft that is inserted into a gap between test tubes, an inspection mechanism main body that is rotatably attached to the tip of the operation shaft, and a test tube mounted on the inspection mechanism main body. Thickness measuring means and appearance inspection means, a clamp mechanism for supporting the inspection mechanism main body on the part to be inspected, an ultrasonic thickness measuring apparatus for displaying information from the thickness measuring means as a thickness value, and the appearance inspection means An inspection apparatus for a tube group including a monitor that displays the video information obtained in (1) is disclosed.

  Further, Patent Document 2 is a boiler heat transfer tube thickness inspection device, which is attached to the left and right of an upper roller provided via upper arm mechanisms attached to the left and right of the upper part of the main body, and a slide mechanism that moves up and down. The lower roller provided via the lower arm mechanism and the drive roller provided via the drive rotor retracting mechanism that can be moved in and out of the main body are pressed against the boiler heat transfer tube to hold the thickness inspection apparatus itself, A structure that inspects the thickness of the boiler heat transfer tube by moving the thickness inspection device itself in the tube axis direction and the vertical direction, operating the thickness inspection sensor retracting mechanism, and pressing the ultrasonic probe head part against the boiler heat transfer tube A thickness inspection apparatus is disclosed.

  Instead of performing ultrasonic flaw inspection from the outside of the pipe as described above, for example, ultrasonic flaw inspection is performed from the inside of the pipe as in the in-pipe insertion type ultrasonic flaw inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3. Techniques to perform are also known.

JP 2005-201664 A JP 2006-308555 A JP 09-145687 A

  However, with the conventional technique described above, it is difficult to quickly and appropriately measure the pipe wall thickness with a simple operation.

  First, since the tube group inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which an inspection mechanism is provided at the tip of a telescopic operation shaft, a user (inspector) grasps the operation shaft to inspect. The inspection mechanism main body can be inserted close to the pipe of the pipe, but after that, in order to inspect the entire circumference of the pipe to be inspected, the inspection mechanism main body is rotated and the operation shaft is pushed and pulled. An operation must be performed.

  In addition, since the thickness inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes the upper roller, the drive roller, and the lower roller, it can freely move in the tube axis direction and the vertical direction of the tube group, and the slide mechanism Therefore, it can move stably even if the gap size of the tube group fluctuates. However, in an actual boiler, not only the interval size of the tube group but also the working environment is different, and there is a case where each tube undergoes deformation such as remarkable bending due to aging. Therefore, it is difficult to apply this thickness inspection apparatus to an actual boiler or the like.

  Moreover, since this thickness inspection apparatus has a complicated structure, it has a relatively large dimension. For example, the space that can be used as an inspection space in a superheater tube of a boiler is very narrow, and there are many environments where workers cannot stand up. Therefore, a large burden is generated on the operator only by bringing a large thickness inspection apparatus and installing it on the superheater tube.

  On the other hand, the technique of continuously measuring the thickness from the inside of the pipe, such as the in-pipe insertion type ultrasonic inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3, can be said to be a typical technique that has been put into practical use in this field. However, similar to the thickness inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the configuration is large, a considerable burden is imposed on the operator. Moreover, in Patent Document 3, it is said that ultrasonic flaw detection on the inner surface of the boiler tube can be performed without cutting the boiler tube. However, in actual inspection, the probe head is inserted into the boiler tube. In addition, it is necessary to cut a part of the pipe in advance or to disassemble the connection part of the pipe. Furthermore, since the inspection is performed while the probe head is sent into the pipe and pulled out to the hand, the probe head may be clogged inside the pipe.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and can be quickly and appropriately performed by a simple operation with respect to a group of tubes arranged in a dense state, such as a superheater tube of a boiler. An object of the present invention is to provide a pipe thickness measuring device capable of measuring pipe thickness.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the pipe thickness measuring device according to the present invention has a rod-shaped arm member and a front end of the arm member when the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the arm member is an orthogonal direction. A positioning member that is disposed and fixed at a position that is in the orthogonal direction with respect to the arm member and has a contact portion that contacts the outer surface of the pipe at a position toward the rear end of the arm member; and Oite the abutment portion, provided toward said rear end of said arm member, in a state where the pipe is in contact, movably configured ultrasonic along the normal direction of the outer surface of the pipe It is a structure provided with a probe and an actuator for moving the ultrasonic probe forward and backward along the longitudinal direction.
Further, the pipe wall thickness measuring device according to the present invention, the arm rod-shaped member, when the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the arm member and the orthogonal direction, the tip of the arm member, along said orthogonal direction Positioning member provided and having an abutting portion that abuts on the outer surface of the pipe, and in a state where the pipe is in contact with the abutting portion of the positioning member, it can advance and retract along the normal direction of the outer surface of the pipe And an actuator for moving the ultrasonic probe forward and backward along the normal direction, and in the orthogonal direction, the side from the positioning member toward the arm member When the rear side and the opposite side are the front side, the positioning member is disposed and fixed at a position that is the front side at the front end of the arm member, and the ultrasonic probe is ,That As withdrawal direction is the longitudinal direction, the may be configured to provided the contact portion of the positioning member.

  According to the said structure, since the positioning member is provided in the shape bent at the front-end | tip of an arm member, the said positioning member can be easily inserted in the clearance gap between the closely packed tube groups. Further, a measurement position is determined by bringing a positioning member into contact with an outer surface of a measurement target tube (target tube) in the tube group, and then an ultrasonic probe is advanced by an actuator, and the ultrasonic probe is moved forward. The tentacle can be brought into contact with the outer surface of the target tube from the normal direction. As a result, the measurement position of the wall thickness in the target tube can be determined appropriately and with good reproducibility, and the ultrasonic probe is brought into contact with the outer surface of the target tube in an appropriate direction and a suitable pressing force. Can do. As a result, for example, wall thickness measurement can be performed quickly and easily on densely packed tube groups such as boiler superheater tubes.

  The pipe thickness measuring apparatus further includes a coplanar feeder that is provided at a position adjacent to the ultrasonic probe and supplies the coplanar between the ultrasonic probe and the outer surface of the pipe. Preferably, the ultrasonic probe is provided at a position adjacent to the ultrasonic probe, and preferably includes an air injector for injecting an air flow to the outer surface of the pipe. It is preferable to include an imager that is provided at an adjacent position and images the outer surface of the pipe.

  According to each of the above configurations, if a coplanar feeder is provided, the coplanar can be applied to the measurement position in the target pipe in a state where the positioning member is in contact, and if the air injector is provided, the measurement position can be applied to the measurement position. Adhering dust and the like can be easily removed, and if an imager is provided, the outer surface of the target tube can be observed before the positioning member abuts. Thereby, it is not necessary to pull out the pipe thickness measuring device from the pipe group every time for supplying the plant, removing dust, etc., and if the image pickup device is provided, the target pipe can be easily determined.

  The specific configuration of each member or mechanism is not particularly limited, but the positioning member is a detachable V block, and the ultrasonic probe can advance and retreat on the inner surface of the V groove of the V block. More preferably, the actuator is an air cylinder.

  In the pipe thickness measuring device, the positioning member, the actuator, and the ultrasonic probe are integrated and configured as a thickness measuring unit, and are preferably detachable from the arm member. It is more preferable that the apparatus further comprises a deposit removing unit configured to be exchangeable with the thickness measuring unit and removing deposits on the outer surface of the pipe.

  According to the above configuration, since the thickness measuring unit is configured to be detachable, for example, it is possible to prepare a plurality of types of thickness measuring units according to the type of the tube group or the target tube and replace them as appropriate. In addition, it can be replaced with another functional unit such as a deposit removing unit. Furthermore, since the deposit removal unit is provided, the thickness can be measured after removing the deposits such as the scale attached to the outer surface of the target tube, so substantially all of the tube group is configured. This pipe can be the target pipe.

The specific configuration of the deposit removal unit is not particularly limited. For example, the deposit removal unit includes a grinder that scrapes and removes deposits, and moves the grinder relative to the arm member. The structure provided with the grinder movement mechanism to be made can be mentioned. In this configuration, the grinding device moving mechanism, said longitudinal direction of said arm member, the perpendicular direction, in at least one direction of the direction of rotation the direction perpendicular to the axis, is configured to move the grinding apparatus It is more preferable. Moreover, it is more preferable that the deposit removing unit also includes an imager that is provided at a position adjacent to the grinder and images the outer surface of the pipe. In addition, although the specific structure of the said grinder is not specifically limited, A grinder or a belt sander can be mentioned as a typical example.

  In the present invention, the thickness measuring unit and the deposit removing unit are not limited to the replaceable configuration, but as a pipe thickness measuring set comprising a combination of the pipe thickness measuring device and the pipe deposit removing device. It may be configured.

  As described above, according to the present invention, pipe thickness measurement can be performed quickly and appropriately with a simple operation on a tube group arranged in a dense state, such as a superheater tube of a boiler. The effect that the pipe thickness measuring apparatus which can be obtained can be obtained.

It is a top view which shows typically the whole structure of the piping thickness measuring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the structure of the positioning member with which the piping thickness measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped, and a thickness measuring part. It is a top view of the positioning member shown in FIG. 1, and a thickness measurement part. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of the positioning member and the thickness measuring unit shown in FIG. 3. It is a schematic diagram which shows the operation | movement which the ultrasonic probe advances in the thickness measurement part shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example in which the contact surface has a different inclination in the positioning member illustrated in FIGS. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of wiring, piping, etc. which are connected to the pipe thickness measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and an example of use environment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a structure of the air piping connected to the pipe thickness measuring apparatus shown in FIG. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows an example of the state which measures piping with the piping thickness measuring apparatus in the use environment shown in FIG. (A)-(d) is process drawing which illustrates typically operation | movement until it reaches the measurement of the thickness in a positioning member and a thickness measurement part in the state shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows typically the whole structure of the pipe thickness measuring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. (A), (b) is a top view which shows an example of a structure of the grinder with which the piping thickness measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 11 is equipped, and a grinder fixing | fixed part. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of wiring, piping, etc. which are connected to the pipe thickness measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 11, and an example of use environment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a structure of the air piping connected in the structure provided with the deposit | attachment removal unit among the pipe | tube thickness measuring apparatuses shown in FIG. FIGS. 11A to 11C are process diagrams schematically illustrating the operation of removing the deposits adhering to the outer surface of the pipe before measuring the pipe thickness in the pipe thickness measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 11. It is. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows an example of a structure of the grinder moving mechanism with which the pipe thickness measuring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention is provided.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
[Configuration of pipe thickness measuring device]
The basic configuration of the pipe thickness measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10A according to the present embodiment includes an arm member 11, a thickness measuring unit 12, a joint member 13, and a positioning member 14, and wiring and wiring not shown in FIG. It has piping.

  The arm member 11 has a rod shape, and a thickness measuring portion 12 and a positioning member 14 are provided at a tip 11 a via a joint member 13. Further, the rear end 11b is a part to be gripped by the user as will be described later. The joint member 13 is in the form of an elongated flat plate in the present embodiment, and the distal end 11a of the arm member 11 is fixed to the measurement surface 131, and the thickness measuring unit 12 is attached adjacent to the fixed portion. The back surface 132, which is the back surface of the measurement surface 131, is outside as viewed from the user when the user grips the rear end 11b of the arm member 11, and is a substantially flat surface as a whole.

  In the following description, in the state where the user holds the rear end 11b of the arm member 11, the front side as viewed from the user is referred to as “inside” and is indicated by an arrow Di in the drawing. Further, the opposite side of the inner side is referred to as “outer side” and indicated by an arrow Dii in the figure. Since the directions along the inner side and the outer side correspond to the longitudinal direction of the arm member 11, the directions are referred to as “vertical” directions as necessary, and the directions orthogonal to the vertical directions are referred to as “lateral” directions. Furthermore, for the convenience of explaining the positional relationship, the side from the thickness measuring unit 12 and the positioning member 14 toward the arm member 11 in the lateral direction (in FIG. 1, from left to right in the drawing) is referred to as “rear side”. This is indicated by an arrow Diii in the figure. The opposite side of the rear side is referred to as “front side”, but is not indicated by an arrow in the drawing.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the tip 11a of the arm member 11 is provided with a square-shaped flange 11c, and the joint penetrates the flange 11c at positions near each corner of the flange 11c. The joint member 13 is fixed to the distal end 11a by screwing a fixing member 151 such as a hexagon bolt so as to reach the member 13. Thereby, the longitudinal direction of the joint member 13 is positioned along the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the arm member 11, that is, the lateral direction. Therefore, the thickness measuring unit 12 and the positioning member 14 fixed to the measurement surface 131 of the joint member 13 are provided along the lateral direction.

  In this state, with the user holding the rear end 11b of the arm member 11, the thickness measuring unit 12 and the positioning member 14 are positioned on the front side of the front end 11a. Moreover, the fixing member 151 is not disposed on the back surface 132 of the joint member 13, and the back surface 132 is substantially flat. If the back surface 132 is flat, the wall thickness measuring unit 12 and the positioning member 14 can be easily inserted into the tube group, as will be described later.

  Specific configurations of the arm member 11 and the joint member 13 are not particularly limited, and various members widely known in the mechanical field can be used. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the arm member 11 is configured as a single rod-shaped member, but is not limited thereto, and a configuration in which a plurality of rod-shaped members are connected to form a single arm member 11. Alternatively, a configuration in which a cylindrical member or rod-shaped member having a smaller diameter is accommodated in a large-diameter cylindrical member so as to be movable back and forth may be employed. Further, the joint member 13 may have a rod shape instead of a flat plate shape, or may have a curved shape. Furthermore, the joint member 13 may not be an independent member, and may be integrated with the distal end 11a of the arm member 11 or may be integrated with a thickness measuring unit 12 described later. Moreover, the structure which fixes the joint member 13 to the front-end | tip 11a of the arm member 11 is not limited to the said structure.

  The thickness measuring unit 12 is schematically illustrated in a rectangular parallelepiped shape in FIG. 1, and includes an ultrasonic probe 21 and an actuator 22 therein, a coplanar discharge nozzle, an air injection nozzle, and a solid not illustrated in FIG. 1. An image sensor and the like are provided. Moreover, the thickness measurement part 12 has the outer side attached to the measurement surface 131 of the joint member 13, and the positioning member 14 attached to the inner side. In this embodiment, the positioning member 14 is configured as a V block having a V-shaped cross section. The ultrasonic probe 21 provided in the wall thickness measuring unit 12 is located at a portion that hits a V-shaped valley (V groove), and the actuator 22 is adjacent to the ultrasonic probe 21. It is provided in the position to do. In FIG. 1, most of the ultrasonic probe 21 and the actuator 22 are accommodated in the thickness measuring unit 12, and are indicated by dotted lines in the drawing.

  The thickness measuring unit 12 and the positioning member 14 will be described more specifically. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the V-block positioning member 14 is a block piece that faces each other and forms a V-shaped cross section. 14a, 14b and a back plate 14c for fixing the block pieces 14a, 14b. Each of the block pieces 14a and 14b has a right trapezoidal cross section, and the surfaces corresponding to the inclined sides of the right trapezoid (inner surfaces of the V-grooves) are contact surfaces 141a and 141b, respectively. The block pieces 14a and 14b are fixed to the back plate 14c so that the contact surfaces 141a and 141b face each other. In addition, a valley surface (inner surface of the V-groove) 142 having a constant interval is formed between the contact surfaces 141 a and 141 b, and the ultrasonic probe 21 is located at the center of the valley surface 142.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the trough surface 142 is provided with a solid-state imaging device 25 adjacent to the ultrasonic probe 21. Further, a coplanar discharge nozzle 23 and an air injection nozzle 24 are provided toward the ultrasonic probe 21 so as to penetrate the block piece 14b (see particularly FIG. 3). A wiring 31 and a wiring 35 are connected to the ultrasound probe 21 and the solid-state imaging device 25, respectively. As will be described later, the wiring 31 and the wiring 35 are connected to a power source, a monitor, and the like. Further, the coplanar discharge nozzle 23 and the air injection nozzle 24 are connected to a pipe 33 and a pipe 34, respectively, and the pipe 33 and the pipe 34 are directly or indirectly connected to an air compressor, as will be described later.

  In the configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the block piece 14 a is located on the side close to the arm member 11, and the block piece 14 b is located on the side away from the arm member 11. Among these, the block piece 14a is formed with a large notch 143 at the center of the contact surface 141a so as to divide the contact surface 141a in the lateral direction. By forming the large cutout 143, a space for allowing the movable portion of the offset fitting 152 and the actuator 22 to move is secured as will be described later. Further, a small notch 144 is formed in the block piece 14b at the center of the contact surface 141b and a part near the valley surface 142. The small notch 144 is an opening for disposing the coplanar discharge nozzle 23 and the air injection nozzle 24 toward the ultrasonic probe 21 on the valley surface 142.

  As described above, the ultrasonic probe 21 is configured to be movable back and forth by the actuator 22. Although the specific configuration is not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a configuration in which an offset metal fitting 152 is interposed between the movable portion of the actuator 22 and the ultrasonic probe 21 is used. Adopted.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4 which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 3, the offset fitting 152 is a metal plate member having a crank shape, and both end portions thereof are positioned in the lateral direction. However, the center part which connects both ends is located in the vertical direction. The rear end of the ultrasonic probe 21 is attached to the inner surface of one end located outside of both ends of the offset fitting 152, and the other end located inside The movable end 153 of the actuator 22 is attached so as to penetrate therethrough.

  According to this configuration, as shown on the left side in FIG. 5, in the standby state, it is accommodated in the thickness measuring unit 12, but as shown on the right side, in the measurement state, the actuator 22 The movable end 153 advances inward (in the direction of the arrow Di) by the operation, and the movement of the movable end 153 is transmitted to the rear end of the ultrasonic probe 21 via the offset fitting 152, thereby the ultrasonic probe. 21 advances inward. Note that the reverse operation is performed when returning from the measurement state to the standby state. This point will be described later together with details of the measurement method.

  Although the specific structure of the positioning member 14 is not specifically limited, In this Embodiment, the block pieces 14a and 14b are comprised with elastic materials, such as a urethane resin. As a result, when the positioning member 14 is brought into contact with the pipe whose thickness is to be measured, the impact on the pipe is suppressed, and fine differences in the outer shape can be absorbed by the elasticity of the block pieces 14a and 14b. It becomes possible. Further, the specific configuration of the back plate 14c is not particularly limited, and a plate-like member having a rigidity or strength enough to maintain the shape of the V block, such as a metal plate, can be used. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the “pipe to be measured for wall thickness” may be referred to as “target pipe”.

  Moreover, the positioning member 14 is comprised so that attachment or detachment is possible from the thickness measurement part 12 in this Embodiment. Although a specific configuration is not particularly limited, for example, a plurality of fixing members 154 such as hexagon bolts are used. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the block pieces 14a and 14b are formed with a plurality of fixing holes 145 on the surface corresponding to the upper base of the right trapezoid, and as shown in FIG. The fixing member 154 is inserted into the fixing hole 145 and is screwed into a screw hole provided in the thickness measuring unit 12. Therefore, if the fixing member 154 is removed, the positioning member 14 can be removed from the thickness measuring unit 12.

  In addition, if the positioning member 14 is detachable, a plurality of positioning members 14 having different configurations of the contact surfaces 141a and 141b are prepared, and depending on the outer diameter of the target tube or the state of the outer surface, etc. Thus, a suitable one can be selected and attached. For example, as schematically shown in FIG. 6, as indicated by a solid line in the drawing, the positioning member 14 in which the inclination angles of the contact surfaces 141a and 141b are standard angles is referred to as “positioning member 14-0”. Then, as shown by the one-dot chain line in the figure, the positioning member 14-1 used when measuring the target tube having a small inclination angle of the contact surfaces 141a and 141b and a large outer diameter, or two points in the figure As indicated by the chain line, a positioning member 14-2 used for measuring a target tube having a large inclination angle of the contact surfaces 141a and 141b and a small outer diameter is prepared separately from the positioning member 14-0. Depending on the target tube, the positioning members 14-0 to 2 can be appropriately replaced to measure the wall thickness.

  The angle formed by the contact surfaces 141a and 141b is not particularly limited, and is appropriately set according to the type of the target tube. Generally, it may be within a range of 35 to 45 °. In addition, if the distance between the positioning members 14 (the length of the block pieces 14a and 14b) is too small, the area in contact with the outer surface of the target tube becomes too small, and the position for measuring the thickness cannot be determined appropriately. Since there is a fear, it is desirable to have a certain distance. Although this space | interval is also set suitably according to the kind of object pipe | tube, for example, it exists in the range of 40-80 mm, Preferably it exists in the range of 50-70 mm, More preferably, 60 mm can be mentioned.

  The specific configuration of the thickness measuring unit 12 is not particularly limited. For example, as the ultrasonic probe 21, those known in the field of piping flaw detection technology can be suitably used. In the present embodiment, an air cylinder is used as the actuator 22. However, the actuator 22 is not limited to this, and a known electromagnetic type or artificial muscle type can be used preferably. it can.

  Moreover, a well-known structure can be used suitably also about the coplanar discharge nozzle 23 and the air injection nozzle 24, and the piping 33 and piping 34 connected to these. Further, the positions of the pipe 33 and the pipe 34 in the thickness measuring unit 12 are not particularly limited. In the present embodiment, both the coplanar discharge nozzle 23 and the air injection nozzle 24 pass through the block piece 14b of the positioning member 14 from the front end portion of the thickness measurement unit 12 to the rear side (in the direction of the arrow Diii). It is provided so that the discharge port is located toward the end. Therefore, the pipe 33 and the pipe 34 connected to these nozzle members are provided along the outer periphery of the thickness measuring unit 12. For example, the pipe 33 and the pipe 34 may be provided so as to penetrate the thickness measuring unit 12. An appropriate arrangement can be selected as appropriate.

  As the solid-state imaging device 25, a known CCD (charge coupled device) image sensor or CMOS image sensor can be used, but camera devices having other configurations may be used instead of these devices. As will be described later, since the solid-state imaging device 25 is used for specifying the position of the target tube, any camera device can be used as long as it has resolution, accuracy, dimensions, durability, etc. suitable for this application. It may be used.

  Here, in the present embodiment, as described above, since the air cylinder is employed as the actuator 22, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, air is introduced into the actuator 22 to move the movable end 153 forward and backward. Elbow pipe joints 321 and 322 for movement are connected. Among these, the elbow pipe joint 321 is located inward from the measurement surface 131 of the joint member 13, and the elbow pipe joint 322 is located on the back surface 132 of the joint member 13. The type, number, arrangement, etc. of these pipe joints are not particularly limited, and various configurations can be appropriately selected and used.

  The thickness measuring unit 12 and the positioning member 14 collectively constitute a “measuring head” of the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10A. The thickness of the measuring head is preferably as small as possible. That is, if the thickness of the measurement head becomes too large, the measurement head cannot be easily inserted between densely packed tube groups. Here, the thickness of the measuring head can also be set based on the interval between the pipes constituting the pipe group, that is, the pipe pitch. Since there is a case where it bends in units of 10 mm, it is difficult to set the thickness of the measuring head strictly based on the tube pitch. In general, if the thickness is less than half the tube pitch, the measuring head can be easily inserted between the tube groups.

[Thickness measurement using a pipe thickness measuring device]
Next, an example of the measurement of the wall thickness using the pipe wall thickness measuring apparatus 10A according to the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.

  For example, in a waste treatment plant that incinerates various types of waste, a boiler is often attached for heat recovery. This boiler collects heat from the combustion gas generated at the time of waste treatment, and is used for generating steam for power generation, for example. The steam generated in this boiler is saturated steam, and includes not only gaseous steam but also liquid moisture. Therefore, in order to evaporate and evaporate the moisture into superheated steam, the boiler is provided with a superheater composed of a group of a plurality of closely packed superheater tubes.

  The superheater tube used in the boiler of the waste treatment plant constitutes a superheater by meandering in a zigzag manner and densely gathering. In this superheater, for example, high-temperature gas of 400 ° C. or higher passes through, so that the superheater tube exposed to a high temperature environment is gradually worn. In addition, in boilers attached to incinerators that incinerate municipal waste and industrial waste in particular, not only the gas passing through is high temperature, but also highly corrosive components such as chlorine-based gas generated by the combustion of waste Is included. For this reason, the superheater tube is easily corroded by exposure to these highly corrosive components.

  If the superheater tube is worn or corroded in this way, the thickness of the tube is reduced (thinning). If the metal loss progresses, the possibility that the superheater tube will blow out increases, leading to an accident in which high-temperature superheated steam flowing through the superheater tube leaks. In the present embodiment, a case where the thickness of the superheater pipe is measured by using the pipe thickness measuring device 10A in order to determine whether or not the thinning has occurred in the superheater pipe is exemplified.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the thickness of the target pipe is measured by the pipe thickness measuring device 10 </ b> A using one superheater pipe 51 provided in the boiler 50 as the target pipe. Here, before the measurement, for example, two cable drums 42a and 42b are connected to the power source 41, and the power source of the projector 43 and the hand lamp 44 for illuminating the inside of the boiler 50 is connected to the cable drum 42a. Connect. Further, an extension power cord 42c is further connected to the cable drum 42b, and the power source of the solid-state imaging device 25 and the power source of the in-furnace monitor 45 provided in the pipe thickness measuring device 10A are connected to the extension power cord 42c. The cable drum 42b is also connected to a power source for the outside monitor 46. Note that the power supply wirings are all indicated by solid lines in FIG.

  The in-furnace monitor 45 is connected to the data wiring 35 a of the solid-state image sensor 25, and an image captured by the solid-state image sensor 25 can be displayed on the in-furnace monitor 45. Further, since the in-furnace monitor 45 is connected to the out-of-furnace monitor 46 by the data wiring 35 b, the image captured by the solid-state imaging device 25 can be displayed on the out-of-furnace monitor 46. Further, since the video camera 47 is also connected to the out-of-furnace monitor 46 via the data wiring 35 c, the image captured by the solid-state imaging device 25 can be recorded by the video camera 47. The data wirings 35a, 35b, and 35c are indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 7 and are distinguished from power supply wirings.

  Although not shown in detail in FIG. 7, air needs to be supplied to the coplanar discharge nozzle 23, the air injection nozzle 24, and the actuator 22 that is an air cylinder provided in the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10 </ b> A. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, an air compressor 301 is connected to the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10 </ b> A via an air pipe 30 and a manifold 302. The air pipe 30 is indicated by a double line in FIG.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the air pipe 30 connected from the compressor 301 is branched into the air pipe 30 a and the air pipe 30 b by the Y joint 304 via the regulator filter 303. The air pipe 30 a is further branched into a pipe 32 and a pipe 34 by a Y joint 304. The pipe 32 is connected to the actuator 22 that is an air cylinder as described above, and supplies air for operating the actuator 22. In the actuator switch unit 352 included in the hand operation unit 305, two pipes 32 are provided. Branches to the pipes 32 and 32. The pipes 32 and 32 are configured such that the air supply and shutoff are switched by the actuator switch unit 352.

  2 to 4, the pipe 32 is attached at a predetermined position inside or around the wall thickness measurement unit 12. It is not necessary to attach to the arm member 11 for convenience. Therefore, for example, a straight joint 306 may be interposed so that the pipe 32 can be separated in the vicinity of the thickness measuring unit 12 and in the vicinity of the arm member 11. The pipes 32 and 32 are connected to elbow fittings 321 and 322 in the vicinity of the thickness measuring unit 12, respectively.

  The pipe 34 is connected to the air injection nozzle 24 as described above, and supplies air injected from the air injection nozzle 24. The pipe 34 is also configured to be switched between air supply and cutoff by an air injection switch unit 354 included in the hand operation unit 305. Further, in the pipe 34, for example, a straight joint 306 may be interposed so that the pipe 34 can be separated in the vicinity of the thickness measuring unit 12 and in the vicinity of the arm member 11. As described above, the air injection nozzle 24, the pipe 34, the air injection switch unit 354, and the like, together with the compressor 301, the air pipe 30, and the like, in the pipe thickness measuring device 10A, air that injects an air flow onto the outer surface of the target pipe. It constitutes an injector.

  The air pipe 30 b is connected to a coplant tank 231, and a pipe 33 is connected to the coplant tank 231. The pipe 33 is connected to the coplanar discharge nozzle 23 as described above, and supplies the coplanar stored in the coplanar tank 231 to the coplanar discharge nozzle 23 on the supplied air. The piping 33 is also configured to be switched between supply and shut-off of the plant by a plant discharge discharge unit 353 included in the hand operation unit 305. Also, in the pipe 33, for example, a straight joint 306 may be interposed so that the pipe 33 can be separated in the vicinity of the thickness measuring unit 12 and in the vicinity of the arm member 11. As described above, the coplanar discharge nozzle 23, the pipe 33, the coplanar discharge switch unit 353, the coplanar tank 231 and the like, together with the compressor 301, the air pipe 30, and the like, are connected to the ultrasonic probe 21 and the target in the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10A. A co-plant feeder for supplying co-plant to the outer surface of the pipe is configured.

  The specific configurations of the various illuminations, monitors, power supplies, wirings and piping, and various members or mechanisms described above are not particularly limited, and those known in the field of piping flaw detection technology can be suitably used. . For example, the air injector or the coplanar supply device is not limited to the above-described configuration, and may be configured as an independent air injection device or a coplanar supply device, or various configurations as various switch units constituting the hand operation unit 305. Alternatively, an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer may be used in place of the out-of-furnace monitor 46 and the video camera 47.

  Thus, with the lighting, monitor, power supply, wiring, piping, etc. prepared, the user (measurement operator) holds the rear end 11b of the arm member 11 (see FIG. 1) and The measuring head (thickness measuring unit 12 and positioning member 14) provided at the tip 11a is inserted into the superheater of the boiler 50.

  In the state where the measuring head is inserted into the superheater, the positioning member 14 is not in contact with the outer surface of the superheater tube 51. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10A, the ultrasonic probe shown in black in the figure is shown. The child 21 is in a state of being accommodated in the thickness measuring unit 12. Since the solid-state imaging device 25 is provided adjacent to the ultrasound probe 21, a plurality of overheatings are obtained by imaging the outer surface of the superheater tube 51 by the solid-state imaging device 25 (shown by broken lines in the figure). Of the instrument tubes 51, the one that is the target tube can be identified. For example, if any change is occurring on the outer surface of an arbitrary superheater tube 51 and the solid-state imaging device 25 captures an image, the positioning member 14 may be brought into contact with the superheater tube 51 as a target tube. .

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the wall thickness measuring unit 12 positioned in the lateral direction at the distal end 11a is inserted between the plurality of superheater tubes 51 constituting the superheater, and the specific tube that is the target tube is inserted. The positioning member 14 is brought into contact with the outer surface of the superheater tube 51. By bringing the positioning member 14 into contact with the superheater tube 51, the measurement position of the wall thickness in the superheater tube 51 can be easily determined, and the ultrasonic probe 21 is in an appropriate posture with respect to this measurement position. Can be held stably.

  In addition, since the wall thickness measurement unit 12 is provided with the air injection nozzle 24, if the measurement position of the wall thickness is determined, the air injection switch unit 354 of the hand operation unit 305 is operated, whereby FIG. As indicated by arrow F in (b), air can be injected toward the outer surface of the superheater tube 51. This jet of air can remove dust adhering to the outer surface or coplanar applied during the previous wall thickness measurement, making it possible to perform wall thickness measurement in a more favorable environment. Become.

  Next, by operating the coplanar discharge switch unit 353 of the hand operation unit 305, the outer surface (or ultrasonic probe) of the superheater tube 51 from the coplanar discharge nozzle 23 as shown by a dotted arrow D in FIG. The coplanar 232 is discharged toward the contact surface of the child 21. The coplant 232 is applied to the measurement surface or the surface of the ultrasonic probe 21 in order to prevent an air layer from being formed between the measurement surface (the outer surface of the superheater tube 51) and the ultrasonic probe 21. The In particular, since the superheater is provided inside the boiler 50 and the like, and a plurality of superheater tubes 51 are densely packed, the thickness measurement of the superheater tube 51 constituting the superheater is performed. When performing, it is difficult to work simply by applying the coplanar 232, but the coplanar 232 can be easily applied by providing the coplanar discharge nozzle 23 in this way. In addition, the specific kind etc. of the coplant 232 are not specifically limited, A well-known structure can be used suitably.

  Next, by operating the actuator switch unit 352 of the hand operation unit 305, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), the actuator 22 is operated and the ultrasonic probe 21 is projected in the arrow S direction (inward). . At this time, in a state where the superheater tube 51 is in contact with the contact surfaces 141 a and 141 b (see FIGS. 2 to 4) of the positioning member 14, the moving direction of the ultrasonic probe 21 is the outer surface of the superheater tube 51. Corresponds to the normal direction. Therefore, the ultrasonic probe 21 advances along the normal direction of the outer surface of the superheater tube 51 by the actuator 22 and comes into contact with the outer surface. In this state, the thickness of the superheater tube 51 is measured by emitting an ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic probe 21.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, since the positioning member 14 is provided in a shape that is bent at the tip 11a of the arm member 11, the positioning member 14 and the thickness measuring unit 12 to which the positioning member 14 is attached are provided. It can be easily inserted into a gap between densely packed tube groups. Furthermore, the measurement position is determined by bringing the positioning member 14 into contact with the outer surface of the measurement target tube (target tube) in the tube group, and then the ultrasonic probe 21 is advanced by the actuator 22. The acoustic probe 21 can be brought into contact with the outer surface of the target tube from the normal direction. As a result, the measurement position of the thickness in the target tube can be determined appropriately and with good reproducibility, and the ultrasonic probe 21 is brought into contact with the outer surface of the target tube with an appropriate direction and a suitable pressing force. be able to. As a result, it is possible to quickly and easily measure the thickness of the densely packed tube group. Further, the use of the positioning member 14 makes it possible to perform stable wall thickness measurement that is less dependent on the skill of the operator.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the actuator 22, the coplant discharge nozzle 23, the air injection nozzle 24, and the like included in the measurement head can be operated by the user (operator). Furthermore, the target tube in the tube group can be imaged by the solid-state imaging device 25 and confirmed by the in-furnace monitor 45 or the out-of-furnace monitor 46. Therefore, easy and highly reproducible measurement can be performed even though the thickness is measured by remote control.

[Modification]
In the present embodiment, the positioning direction of the positioning member 14 and the thickness measuring unit 12 is a horizontal direction (arrow Diii direction) that is a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction (longitudinal direction of the arm member 11). The present invention is not limited to this, and it is only necessary that at least the positioning member 14 is arranged in the intersecting direction when the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction is defined as the intersecting direction. That is, the positioning member 14 does not need to be provided at an angle that forms a substantially right angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the arm member 11, and may be provided in a direction that forms an inclination. Further, the angle formed by the arm member 11 and the positioning member 14 (angle in the crossing direction with respect to the vertical direction) is not particularly limited, and can be set to an arbitrary pipe according to the pipe pitch of the pipe group or the environment around the pipe group. What is necessary is just to set the angle which can contact | abut the thickness measurement part 12 and the positioning member 14. FIG. Further, the joint member 13 may be attached to the arm member 11 so that the angle of the joint member 13 can be changed with respect to the vertical direction.

  In the present embodiment, the positioning member 14 has a V-block shape and has contact surfaces 141a and 141b that face each other in an inclined state. However, the configuration of the positioning member 14 is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which four hemispherical protrusions are arranged and a pipe is brought into contact with each protrusion, or a configuration in which a cross section is a U-shape may be employed. In the former configuration, the surface of each protrusion is a contact portion with respect to the outer surface of the pipe, and in the latter configuration, the U-shaped inner surface is a contact portion. That is, in the present invention, the specific configuration of the contact portion is not particularly limited as long as the positioning member 14 has a contact portion that contacts the outer surface of the pipe whose thickness is to be measured.

(Embodiment 2)
Although the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10A according to the first embodiment includes only a configuration for measuring the thickness of the pipe, the pipe thickness measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment further adheres to the outer surface of the pipe. It has a configuration for removing deposits such as scales.

[Configuration of the deposit removal unit]
A basic configuration of the pipe thickness measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. As shown in FIG. 11, the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10B according to the present embodiment includes the thickness measuring unit 12, the joint member 13, the positioning member 14, and the distal end 11a of the arm member 11 described in the first embodiment. The wall thickness measurement unit 111 is configured by being integrated. The distal end 11a of the arm member 11 is detachably connected to the rear end 11b of the arm main body 11 by, for example, a screwing configuration such as a screw. Therefore, the thickness measuring unit 111 can be detached from the arm member 11. It has become.

  The pipe thickness measuring device 10B includes an attached matter removing unit 112 configured to be replaceable with the thickness measuring unit 111. The arm main body 11d of the deposit removing unit 112 is also detachably connected to the rear end 11b of the arm member 11 by a screwed structure such as a screw with respect to the rear end 11b of the arm member 11. It is removed from the rear end 11b and replaced with the deposit removing unit 112.

  The deposit removing unit 112 according to the present embodiment includes a grinder 16 that scrapes and removes deposits, and a grinder moving mechanism 17 that moves the grinder relative to the arm member 11.

  As the grinder 16, in the present embodiment, a grinder 16a shown in FIG. 12A or a belt sander 16b shown in FIG. 12B can be used. The grinder 16a is preferably used when the adhering matter adhering to the periphery of the target tube is relatively hard. The belt sander 16b is preferably used when the deposit is relatively soft. The belt sander 16b is advantageous when the deposit is soft because it may damage the target tube body when removing the deposit. However, when the deposit is hard, the belt sander 16b The grinder 16a is advantageous because efficient removal becomes difficult.

  The grinding machine used as the grinder 16 is appropriately selected according to various conditions such as the physical properties of the deposit or the state of removal of the deposit, and is not limited to either the grinder 16a or the belt sander 16b. Of course, a known grinding machine other than these can be suitably used as the grinder 16.

  Depending on the type of the grinder 16, an attachment member may be interposed between the grinder moving mechanism 17 and the grinder 16 in order to appropriately reach the grinder 16 to the target pipe. For example, the configuration example of the grinder 16 shown in FIG. 11 is a grinder 16a. In this configuration example, for example, a grinder attachment member 162 is attached to the grinder movement mechanism 17, and the grinder attachment member 162 substantially A grinder 16a is attached to the tip of an angle member 161 supported at a right angle.

  Further, although not shown in FIG. 11 and FIGS. 12A and 12B, a solid-state imaging device may be provided at a position adjacent to the grinder 16. By providing a solid-state image sensor and checking the outer surface of the target tube with a monitor, etc., where is the position to measure the thickness, whether there is a deposit at that position, or removal of the deposit is appropriate for the thickness measurement It can be confirmed by the user's visual inspection whether it has been removed to a certain extent.

  Next, the grinder moving mechanism 17 includes a support clamp 71, a pivot part 72, an operation handle 73, and a handle attachment part 74 in the present embodiment. The support clamp 71 is provided at the tip of the arm main body 11 d and supports the grinder moving mechanism 17 so as to be detachable from the arm member 11.

  The pivot portion 72 includes a pivot rotation shaft 72a and a pivot bearing 72b. The pivot rotation shaft 72a is supported by the support clamp 71 on the rear side in the lateral direction (in the direction of arrow Diii). A pivot bearing 72b is rotatably attached to the tip of the pivot rotation shaft 72a. The pivot bearing 72b supports the operation handle 73 toward the inner side in the vertical direction and supports the grinder 16 toward the outer side in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the grinder 16 and the operation handle 73 are connected substantially linearly in the vertical direction via the pivot bearing 72 b, and are therefore substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of the arm member 11. If the position is used as a reference, the operation handle 73 can be rotated around the pivot axis 72a as a central axis, and therefore the relative position of the grinder 16 provided outside the operation handle 73 is operated. be able to.

  The handle attachment portion 74 is a member for fixing the operation handle 73 to the pivot bearing 72b, and also functions as a stopper when the operation handle 73 is moved up and down. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, if the operation handle 73 is moved so as to be pushed outward, the handle attachment portion 74 is brought into contact with the pivot bearing 72b, so that the operation handle 73 does not move further outward. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b), if the operation handle 73 is moved so as to be pulled inward, the grinder 16 (the grinder 16a or the belt sander 16b) is attached to the operation handle 73. Since the instrument mounting member 162 abuts on the pivot bearing 72b, the operation handle 73 does not move further inward.

  As described above, the handle attachment portion 74, together with the pivot bearing 72b and the grinder attachment member 162, constitutes a mechanism (vertical movement mechanism) that allows the operation handle 73 to move in the vertical direction. As a result, the grinder 16 can be rotated and moved vertically by operating the operation handle 73. Therefore, by operating the operation handle 73, the grinder 16 can be placed in a position suitable for the work of removing deposits. Can be moved easily.

  Note that the handle attachment portion 74 may be configured so that the inner end portion held by the user of the operation handle 73 can be removed from the outer end portion where the grinder attachment member 162 is provided. Accordingly, by replacing the inner end portion of the operation handle 73, the length of the operation handle 73 can be adjusted, or a gripping portion of a kind preferable for the use environment can be used.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the grinder fixing unit 18 may be further provided in the deposit removing unit 112. The grinder fixing unit 18 fixes the deposit removing unit 112 between the adjacent superheater tubes 51 when the pipe thickness measuring device 10B is inserted between the superheater tubes 51. Although the specific configuration is not particularly limited, for example, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B, a tube receiving portion 181 and a tube receiving support portion 182 that supports the tube receiving portion 181 are provided. It is the composition which is. The tube receiver 181 is made of an elastic material similar to that of the positioning member 14, for example, and has a curved surface enough to receive the outer surface of the superheater tube 51. Further, the tube receiving support portion 182 is attached to the outside of the clamp member 71, for example, and supports the tube receiving portion 181 on both side surfaces of the clamp member 71.

  According to this configuration, when the pipe thickness measuring device 10B is inserted into the superheater, if the pair of pipe receiving portions 181 and 181 are brought into contact with each other between the arbitrary superheater pipes 51 and 51, the attached matter The removal unit 112 is fixed by being sandwiched between the superheater tubes 51 and 51. Therefore, since the operation handle 73 can be stably operated, the work for removing the deposits by the grinder 16 can be performed better.

  The specific configurations of the grinder moving mechanism 17 and the grinder fixing portion 18 described above are not particularly limited, and those known in the field of pipe flaw detection technology can be suitably used.

  In the present embodiment, an air clamp can be preferably used as the clamp member 71. Thereby, the grinder moving mechanism 17 can be supported by fixing the deposit removing unit 112 at an arbitrary position of the tube group with the air clamp. Therefore, the reaction force at the time of the grinding process is buffered by the air clamp during the removal work of the deposit by the grinder 16, so that the user (operator) can smoothly remove the deposit. Further, fixing the deposit removing unit 112 with the clamp member 71 eliminates the need for the operator to hold the unit, so that the burden or attention of the worker can be concentrated only on the operation of the deposit removing unit 112. .

[Adhesion removal and thickness measurement using an adhesion removal unit]
Next, referring to FIGS. 13, 14, and 15 (a) to 15 (c), an example of deposit removal and wall thickness measurement using the pipe wall thickness measuring apparatus 10 </ b> B according to the present embodiment. Will be described in detail.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the case where the removal of deposits and the measurement of the wall thickness are performed on the boiler superheater tube attached to the waste treatment plant is illustrated. Here, in boilers used in incinerators that incinerate municipal waste and industrial waste, the incineration ash generated from the combustion of waste is scattered, and the incineration ash melts and adheres to the outer surface of the superheater tube Also occurs. If this deposit (scale or clinker) grows gradually and accumulates on the outer surface, the thickness of the superheater tube cannot be measured properly. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a case where the thickness of the superheater tube is measured after removing the deposits adhering to the outer surface of the superheater tube using the pipe thickness measuring device 10B is illustrated.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the thickness of the target pipe is measured by the pipe thickness measuring device 10 </ b> B using one superheater pipe 51 provided in the boiler 50 as the target pipe. In the state in which the illumination, monitor, power supply, wiring, and piping shown in FIG. 13 are prepared, the thickness measuring unit 111 and the deposit removing unit 112 are replaceable in place of the pipe thickness measuring device 10A. Since it is basically the same as the state shown in FIG. 7 described in the first embodiment except that the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10B is used, the detailed description thereof is omitted.

  However, in the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10B including the deposit removal unit 112 shown in FIG. 13, a solid-state imaging device 165 for removing deposits, which is not shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, is illustrated. . The solid-state imaging device 165 has a power source connected to the extended power cord 42c and the data wiring 35d of the solid-state imaging device 165 connected to the in-furnace monitor 45, similarly to the solid-state imaging device 25 of the thickness measurement unit 111. Yes. Therefore, the image picked up by the solid-state imaging device 165 can be displayed on the in-furnace monitor 45 and the out-of-furnace monitor 46 connected thereto by the data wiring 35b, and further, the out-of-furnace monitor 46 and the data wiring 35c. Recording is possible with the video camera 47 connected by.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the air pipe 30 connected to the compressor 301 shown in FIG. 13 is connected to the pipe 37 via the changeover switch 307 and the regulator filter 303. The pipe 37 supplies air to the air blowing function of the deposit removing unit 112, and is configured to be switched between air supply and cutoff by an air blow switch unit 357 included in the hand operation unit 305. A pipe 38 is also connected to the deposit removal unit 112. A silencer 75 is connected to the other side of the pipe 38.

  As described above, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, in a state where the illumination, the monitor, the power supply, the wiring, the piping, and the like are prepared, the user (measurement operator) can use the arm body 11d as the pipe thickness measuring device 10B. With the attached matter removing unit 112 attached, the rear end 11b of the arm member 11 is gripped (see FIG. 11), and the grinder 16 provided at the front end is inserted into the superheater of the boiler 50.

  At the stage where the grinder 16 is inserted into the superheater, as shown in FIG. 15A, the outer surface of the superheater tube 51 is imaged by the solid-state imaging device 165 provided in the deposit removal unit 112 (broken line in the figure). ). Thereby, while being able to specify what is an object pipe among a plurality of superheater pipes 51, it can be checked whether deposit 70, such as a scale, has adhered to the outer surface of an object pipe.

  When the deposit 70 is attached to the outer surface of the target pipe and it is necessary to remove it, as shown in FIG. 15B, the superheater pipe 51 is used by a grinder 16 (in this example, a grinder 16a). The adhering material 70 on the outer surface is removed. At this time, the removal operation can be performed while confirming the image captured by the solid-state image sensor 165 with the in-furnace monitor 45 or the out-of-furnace monitor 46.

  Thereafter, if the deposit 70 can be sufficiently removed, the deposit removing unit 112 is detached from the arm main body 11d, the wall thickness measuring unit 111 is attached instead, the rear end 11b of the arm member 11 is gripped, and the wall thickness measuring unit 111 is attached. The measuring head (thickness measuring section 12 and positioning member 14) provided in is inserted into the superheater of the boiler 50. And as shown in FIG.15 (c), the outer surface of the superheater pipe | tube 51 is imaged with the solid-state image sensor 25 provided adjacent to the ultrasonic probe 21 (it shows with a broken line in the figure), and a deposit | attachment The superheater tube 51 from which 70 is removed is specified, and the above-described series of wall thickness measurements are performed (see FIGS. 10B to 10D).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the deposit removing unit 112 is provided in addition to the thickness measuring unit 111, so that it adheres to the outer surface of the target tube before measuring the thickness of the target tube. The attached material 70 can be removed. Moreover, since the deposit removing unit 112 can be replaced with the wall thickness measuring unit 111, the place where the pipe pitch is narrow or the pipe structure is narrow so that the worker cannot reach it. Also, the deposit 70 can be removed and the thickness of the target tube can be measured. In addition, because it is possible to remove the deposits on the target tube before measurement, it is not necessary to measure the wall thickness by looking for piping with few deposits. Therefore, almost all the pipes that make up the tube group, except for mounting brackets, etc. Can be used as a thickness measurement target.

  Moreover, according to this Embodiment, the removal of the deposit | attachment with respect to an object pipe | tube, and the measurement of thickness can be performed sequentially as a series of work. As a result, it is possible to avoid such a situation that the measuring device is clogged in the piping as in the conventional piping thickness measuring device. Moreover, if the deposits are removed, almost all of the pipes can be used as target pipes.For example, for each boiler, the wall thickness is regularly measured at the same location on the same superheater pipe. Observation becomes possible. Therefore, the tendency of thinning can be investigated for each part of each superheater tube.

  In addition, when actual work was performed using the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10A according to the present embodiment, the removal of the deposit 70 was 3.3 minutes per pipe, and the pipe thickness was measured for the pipe thickness measurement. The operation time was about 2 minutes per tube (measurement of one portion of the target tube three times). Thus, according to the present invention, it can be seen that a quick wall thickness measurement operation can be realized.

[Modification]
In the present embodiment, at least the positioning member 14, the actuator 22, and the ultrasonic probe 21 may be integrated to form a single unit. Is not limited to a configuration including a part of the arm member 11 and the joint member 13 described above. This also applies to the deposit removal unit 112.

  In the present embodiment, the thickness measurement unit 111 and the deposit removal unit 112 are replaceable with respect to one arm member 11, but the present invention is not limited to this. First, the wall thickness measurement unit 111 and the deposit removal unit 112 are attached to different arm members 11 to form a pipe wall thickness measurement set including a combination of the pipe thickness measurement device and the pipe deposit removal device. May be.

  Furthermore, in a series of work methods that can be realized in the present embodiment, that is, a pipe wall thickness measuring method including a combination of removal of deposits and wall thickness measurement, for example, combined with a pipe wall thinning detection method using a guide wave You can also Specifically, the primary screening of investigating pipes with a certain level of thinning confirmed from a plurality of pipe groups by thinning detection with a guide wave, for pipes with confirmed thinning, Removal of deposits and measurement of wall thickness can be performed. Thereby, it is not necessary to measure the wall thickness of the pipe at random, and the inspection assistant can be shortened and the thinned portion can be quickly identified.

(Embodiment 3)
The pipe thickness measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment has basically the same configuration as the pipe thickness measuring apparatus 10B according to the second embodiment, but the grinder moving mechanism provided in the deposit removing unit 112. 17 is different in that it includes a mechanism for performing lateral movement in addition to rotational movement and vertical movement. This configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the basic configuration of the grinder moving mechanism 19 in the present embodiment is the same as that of the grinder moving mechanism 17, but the arm main body 11d has a pivot instead of the support clamp 71. A part moving mechanism 76 is attached.

  The pivot movement mechanism 76 has two support clamps 76a and 76b and a plate-like clamp attachment that is attached to the arm member 11 in a state where these support clamps 76a and 76b are arranged in parallel in the lateral direction (the direction of arrow Diii in the figure). Similarly to the member 76c and the clamp mounting member 76c, the pivot portion support member 76d is supported laterally by the support clamps 76a and 76b and supports the pivot rotation shaft 72a of the pivot portion 72 on the outside (in the direction of arrow Dii in the figure). And a pivot portion actuator 76e that is provided at the rear end (pivot bearing 72b is attached to the front end) of the pivot rotation shaft 72a and moves the pivot rotation shaft 72a back and forth in the lateral direction.

  As is apparent from this configuration, the pivot part moving mechanism 76 moves the pivot rotation shaft 72a to the front side (the direction opposite to the arrow Diii direction in the figure) or the rear side (the arrow Diii direction in the figure) by the operation of the pivot part actuator 76e. Can be made. Thereby, the grinder 16 provided at the tip of the pivot portion 72 can also move in the lateral direction. Therefore, the grinder 16 can be moved in three directions, ie, rotational movement, vertical movement, and lateral movement, by operating the operation handle 73. By operating the operation handle 73, the grinder 16 It can be easily moved to a position suitable for the removal operation.

  Here, in the present invention, the configuration in which the grinder 16 is moved relative to the arm member 11 is the same as that of the grinder moving mechanism 17 in the second embodiment or the grinder moving mechanism 19 in the present embodiment. It is not limited and other publicly known composition can be adopted. At least in the present invention, at least one of the longitudinal direction (longitudinal direction of the arm member 11), the lateral direction (direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction), and the rotational direction about the lateral direction with the arm member 11 as a reference. What is necessary is just to be comprised so that the grinder 16 can move to a direction.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the description of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and are disclosed in different embodiments and a plurality of modifications. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means provided are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be widely used in the field of measuring the thickness of individual pipes in a tube group in which a plurality of pipes are densely packed, such as a superheater pipe provided in a boiler.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Arm member 14 Positioning member 16 Grinding machine 17 Grinding machine moving mechanism 21 Ultrasonic probe 22 Actuator 23 Coplanar discharge nozzle (Coplanar feeder)
24 Air injection nozzle (air injector)
25 Solid-state image sensor (imager)
33 Piping (Caplant supplier)
34 Piping (Air injector)
70 Adhering substance 111 Thickness measuring unit 112 Adhering substance removing unit 231 Coplanar tank (Coplanar feeder)

Claims (13)

A rod-shaped arm member;
When the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the arm member is defined as the orthogonal direction, the rear end of the arm member is disposed and fixed to the front end of the arm member at a position in the orthogonal direction with respect to the arm member. A positioning member having a contact portion that contacts the outer surface of the pipe at a position toward
Oite the abutment portion of the positioning member, provided toward said rear end of said arm member, in a state where the pipe is in contact, movably configured along the normal direction of the outer surface of the pipe An ultrasonic probe,
An apparatus for measuring a pipe thickness, comprising: an actuator for moving the ultrasonic probe forward and backward along the longitudinal direction. A rod-shaped arm member;
A positioning member that has a contact portion that is provided along the orthogonal direction at the tip of the arm member and contacts the outer surface of the pipe when the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the arm member is the orthogonal direction;
An ultrasonic probe provided so as to be able to advance and retreat along the normal direction of the outer surface of the pipe in a state where the pipe is in contact with the contact portion of the positioning member;
An actuator for moving the ultrasonic probe forward and backward along the normal direction,
In the perpendicular direction, the rear the side toward the arm member from the positioning member, when the opposite side is the front side, the positioning member, said orthogonal direction by the tip becomes forward at the position of the arm member which are fixed arranged in a position,
The ultrasonic probe is a pipe thickness measuring device provided at the contact portion of the positioning member such that the advancing / retreating direction is the longitudinal direction .   The pipe according to claim 1, further comprising a coplanar feeder that is provided at a position adjacent to the ultrasonic probe and supplies coplanar between the ultrasonic probe and the outer surface of the pipe. Thickness measuring device.   The pipe thickness measuring apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an air injector provided at a position adjacent to the ultrasonic probe and jetting an air flow toward an outer surface of the pipe.   The pipe wall thickness measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an imager that is provided at a position adjacent to the ultrasonic probe and images the outer surface of the pipe.   The pipe thickness measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the positioning member is a detachable V block, and the ultrasonic probe is provided on an inner surface of a V groove of the V block so as to be able to advance and retract. .   The pipe thickness measuring apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the actuator is an air cylinder.   3. The pipe thickness measurement according to claim 1, wherein the positioning member, the actuator, and the ultrasonic probe are integrated and configured as a thickness measurement unit, and are detachable from the arm member. apparatus.   The pipe thickness measuring device according to claim 8, further comprising a deposit removing unit configured to be exchangeable with the thickness measuring unit and removing deposits on an outer surface of the pipe.   The piping according to claim 9, wherein the deposit removing unit includes a grinder that scrapes and removes deposit and a grinder moving mechanism that moves the grinder relative to the arm member. Thickness measuring device. The grinding device moving mechanism, said longitudinal direction of said arm member, the perpendicular direction, in at least one direction of the direction of rotation the direction perpendicular to the axis, and is configured to move the grinding apparatus, according to claim 10. The pipe wall thickness measuring device according to 10.   The pipe thickness measuring device according to claim 10, further comprising an imager that is provided at a position adjacent to the grinder and images an outer surface of the pipe.   The pipe wall thickness measuring device according to claim 10, wherein the grinder is a grinder or a belt sander.

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