Last July, Tecnatom successfully carried out a demonstration for the performance of a visual inspection using a drone. This was the first experience carried out outside a nuclear power plant. This inspection was previously carried.
out by conventional means, which has allowed a comparative analysis of the results to be made.
Although from the technical point of view, this type of inspection is not particularly difficult, this is not the case from the administrative point of view, since a large number of documents must be prepared in advance to obtain the flight permit from the Ministry of the Interior and the authorization of the plant for the execution of the inspection.
Additionally, the inspection was carried out in extreme conditions of temperature (close to 40ºC) and wind speed (5- 10 m/s), in addition to flying over water, which forced us to equip the drone with the corresponding flotation system on the landing gear.
The experience was satisfactory for those responsible for the nuclear power plant, having demonstrated, on the one hand, the perfect stability of the drone and, on the other hand, the high quality of the images recorded from distances of 8-9 meters to critical components. A success that we hope will lead to new opportunities.
Access to the article in the SNE journal
https://www.revistanuclear.es/en/tecnologia-e-innovacion/advanced-visual-inspections-by-drone-for-restricted-airspaces/
