The U.S. Navy currently expends upwards of $32M, annually, to open, gas-free and inspect shipboard tank spaces for the determination of corrosion and coatings damage. This represents a significant cost and labor burden. To overcome these difficulties, two video inspection systems have been developed that obviate requirements for both certifying tanks gas free and for emptying the tank prior to performing an inspection. These systems also obviate requirements for inspector presence during tank inspections. A corrosion detection algorithm (CDA) has also been developed which employs two independent algorithms that individually assess the tank coatings damage. The independent damage assessments are then fused to attain a single coatings damage value. In testing performed to date, it has been shown that the corrosion detection algorithm significantly reduces the effect of inspector-to-inspector variability and provides an accurate assessment of tank coatings damage.
Keywords: Corrosion Detection, Remote Inspection