MOBILE, MULTI-MODE APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR NONDESTRUCTIVELY INSPECTING COMPONENTS OF AN OPERATING SYSTEM

摘要

2065380 9200518 PCTABS00010 A mobile apparatus for and a method of non-contacting, nondestructive, on-line inspection of installed components of plants, facilities or other systems using penetrating radiation sources and detectors mounted on a ring assembly which can be placed about the component while it remains in place and in use. The ring assembly is held in place by a yoke assembly in a manner that allows the ring to be rotated relative to the yoke assembly so that multiple scans of the same cross-section of it can be performed from different angles. The apparatus is also capable of sub-positioning the detectos relative to the source while the ring assembly is stationary to increase the number of scans that can be taken from different angles. The yoke assembly, in turn, is mounted to a beam assembly in a manner that allows the yoke assembly to move relative to the beam assembly. The apparatus can operate in multiple scanning modes and the resulting data collected can be processed using both application specific real time data analysis techniques and computerized axial tomographic (CAT) scanning techniques many available data processing algorithms.