In-service inspection of Ammonia Tanks provides a significant economical benefit compared to traditional internal inspection of the tank.

Ammonia tank inspection is critical

Owners' demands led to the development of an inspection system for in-service inspection of welds in liquid ammonia storage tanks. FORCE Technology's inspection system is based on our well-proven automated ultrasonic inspection system P-scan.

The inspection robot is designed for automated ultrasonic testing of welds in ammonia storage tanks while they are in service. A deployment tool is designed for deploying the robot on the inner tank through a manhole on the outer tank. The environment in the annular room is very hostile with ammonia vapour and a temperature of -32 °C and hence the requirements to the robot are severe with regards to inspection capability and integrity.

The inspection robot is fitted with 8 ultrasonic channels and can be fitted with pulse-echo, creep wave and Time of Flight Diffraction (ToFD) probes. The inspection robot can therefore be fitted with the optimum inspection setup for detection and sizing of Stress Corrosion Cracks (SCC) in the welds and heat affected zones (HAZ).

The Inspection System consists of:

  • Remote controlled Inspection robot with cameras and ultrasound capability 
  • Remote controlled deployment tool for deployment of robot through manhole
  • Habitat with controllable atmosphere in front of manhole at tank 
  • Container with control room, machine shop and electronics.