Conclusion
Effective utilization of remote crawlers begins
with a clear understanding of mission objectives,
inspection specifications, and line/asset features.
Collectively, these critical areas create a framework
for crawler selection, payloads, and inspection
team attributes. When properly deployed, remote
crawlers yield tremendous benefits including safe,
expedient, and cost-effective data collection, excel-
lent data quality, and minimization or elimination
of excavation and confined space entries. This cul-
mination of attributes can help to reduce outage or
turnaround scope, optimize inspection budgets, and
positively impact safety metrics.
AUTHOR
Ron Kessler: Vice President, Robotic Inspection Solutions,
Team Inc., Sugarland, TX rkessler2012@gmail.com
CITATION
Materials Evaluation 82 (7): 34–39
https://doi.org/10.32548/2024.me-04448
©2024 American Society for Nondestructive Testing
671' 666' 661' 656' 651' Figure 4. Point
cloud view of
indentation and
surrounding
piping.
5/18/2023 09:27
Figure 5. Crawler
camera view.
2'-79/16"
2'-67/16"
3'-113/16"
3'-1"
Figure 6. Best-fit oval due to indentation.
J U L Y 2 0 2 4 • M A T E R I A L S E V A L U A T I O N 39

RVI FOR
INTERNAL
HEALTH
MONITORING
OF INDUSTRIAL
GAS TURBINES
BY PAUL THOMPSON
INDUSTRIAL GAS TURBINES ARE ROBUST, DURABLE,
AND DEPENDABLE, BUT THEY CAN DEVELOP
PROBLEMS SUCH AS INTERNAL WEAR, LOSS OF
THERMAL BARRIER COATINGS, AND PREMATURE
PART FAILURES. IF LEFT UNDETECTED, THESE
ISSUES CAN LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT UNPLANNED
COSTS AND DOWNTIME. TO PREVENT PREMATURE
FAILURES, AND AS AN AID IN FUTURE OUTAGE
PLANNING, INTERNAL HEALTH MONITORING
USING REMOTE VISUAL INSPECTION (RVI) CAN
DETERMINE WHETHER COMPONENTS ARE IN
GOOD CONDITION AND FIT FOR SERVICE, OR
IF ADDITIONAL REPAIRS ARE NEEDED. THE USE
OF RVI, WITH A VIDEO BORESCOPE CAPABLE OF
ANALYZING AND QUANTIFYING INDICATIONS USNG
3D DATA DISPLAYED IN A POINT CLOUD, ALLOWS
FOR MEASURING ANOMALIES WITH ACCURACIES
OF 0.001 IN. (0.025 MM). IN SOME CASES, EARLY
DETECTION AND 3D ANALYSIS OF INTERNAL
ISSUES IN INDUSTRIAL GAS TURBINES HAVE SAVED
OPERATORS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, SOMETIMES
EVEN DURING A SINGLE OUTAGE.
40
M A T E R I A L S E V A L U A T I O N • J U L Y 2 0 2 4