Remotely Operated Robotic System for Inspection of Cooling Water Sump, Pump and Intervention for Scavenging

Water is an essential element in any power plant for the generation of power. Apart from generating steam for the turbine, it is also used to condense the steam to water for re-use in the boiler. A massive volume of water required for the above purpose is obtained from local water bodies, especially rivers and reservoirs. It may contain various floating objects that can damage the pumps' rotors and the installation of the sump. Presently, only manual inspection is carried out with several limitations. Robotic technology has the potential for use in such cases overcoming the limitations. The commercially available systems are meant for application in the sea or open areas and difficult to use in the constrained spaces as found in the Cooling Water (CW) sump areas. A specially-designed underwater robotic system has been developed to operate remotely in the CW sump area for visual inspection. The robotic system can operate in the constrained space of the CW sump area populated with several installations and carry out the inspection through turbid water using an AI-based Dehazing algorithm. The system is equipped with several safety measures to safeguard against any collision. The 1-DOF manipulator can be used for light-duty intervention. The system has undergone field trials at one of the Thermal Power Plants, and the performance has been found satisfactory.