Installations manageable in operation by sensors
Within today's industrial market, "ageing assets" are an increasingly hot topic. Because many installations and buildings simultaneously reach the end of their intended lifespan, producers are unable to renew them due to high costs. Techport company Intures noticed that many producers were running into this problem and therefore devised a methodology to keep assets safe and current. Money was needed to get this off the ground. Techport guided Intures in applying for a feasibility voucher Smart Industry Northwest. Now that it has been awarded, Intures has started to test the methodology and will hopefully be able to roll it out more widely next year.
Every installation has a theoretical end-of-life. So the question is not whether an installation will fail due to aging, but when. Inspection is a frequently used method as a management measure, but is often not sufficiently secured. Jarno Water, operational director at Intures explains: "Our customers are constantly busy with risk considerations. You want to stay in controllable operation, but you also want to know when an installation is going to fail. Many installations are outdated, but when do you decide to replace them? It is a consideration you make based on safety, availability and economic importance. With the methodology we have developed you create a manageable situation where you can achieve the optimum. We inspect and monitor the installation by means of visual inspection, non-destructive testing and sensor technology. This allows you to better predict when the installation is going to fail and you can intervene early. It's really the same as skating on the ice. For example, you see where cracks are, we monitor these by placing sensors. So we keep an eye on exactly whether the crack is getting bigger and how fast. But we also place sensors in places where cracks could easily occur, for example because many people skate over them. You can't see a crack here yet, but by placing the sensors you can immediately see when the ice is weakening due to fatigue. This is also how it works when managing concrete and steel structures."
Feasibility voucher Smart Industry Northwest
Colleague Bart Feldberg of Intures was introduced to sensor technology in 2016 and strongly believed there was a large market for it. Jarno: "At the time, we got a demonstration at TNO of the sensors placed on the Merwede Bridge and Van Brienenoord Bridge to detect and monitor fatigue phenomena. From this technology came a startup of a new company, SHM NEXT. A few months ago we got in touch with this company again. The sensors have since been improved and because we were so enthusiastic, we made a presentation at Techport's network. Many companies recognized the problem and were enthusiastic. It was only stuck on money. Techport followed through and together we applied for a feasibility voucher from Smart Industry Northwest. This was recently awarded and we are very happy with it. The methodology has already proven itself at the Merwede Bridge and Van Brienenoord Bridge, where Rijkswaterstaat and TNO were involved. However, the methodology has not yet been applied in an industrial environment, combined with visual inspections as a 0 measurement. This is what we are now going to test. As Intures, we are constantly innovating, so this fits completely into our strategy. We try to respond to problems and trends in the market and solve them together with our customers. We are therefore always looking for new innovations and techniques to still achieve our goal."
Sensors
Installations or structures encounter fatigue phenomena at some point. Previously, there were no tools to measure this. Nowadays, special sensors and software are available for this. Dennis Heemskerk, Industry Team Leader at Intures: "By measuring and recording sound waves, we can measure abnormalities in the material caused by fatigue. After inspection, we place sensors at strategically critical locations. This can be locally where there is already a fatigue crack or just at a spot where we think a fatigue crack may start to develop. The sensors are very user-friendly, you stick them to the structure with a magnet, are wire-free and communicate with 4G.
Use case Tata Steel
Intures has received the feasibility voucher to conduct a use case at Tata Steel to confirm the operation of sensors. There is a crane runway structure at the Oxy Steel plant where huge cranes carrying pans of liquid steel travel over it. Dennis: "We have been monitoring the condition of the crane runway girders for several years through an annual visual inspection and non-destructive testing techniques. We therefore know exactly the maintenance condition of the girders and keep a close eye on them. Based on the inspection results, we have set up a monitoring plan and trend analysis to which we also want to add sensor technology. Based on this monitoring plan, we are creating a web application so that everyone can watch the results. Every deviation will be recorded and monitored. Our goal is to demonstrate the operation of the set-up within two months."
Inspecting the future
Intures currently inspects many structures and installations "on site," but expects this to change as sensors can be widely deployed. Dennis: "The current way of inspecting is quite conservative, time-consuming, visual and with old techniques. The smart techniques are there, but we don't apply them enough yet. So I hope we can introduce this concept to more asset owners. Installations are getting older and sensors are really the solution for maintenance in my opinion. For me personally, it's a really cool challenge to work with the latest technology in a challenging environment where it's not always easy to get to the installation." Jarno adds: "The next step we want to take is to create a digital twin dashboard. Our inspection results are currently already supported by digital twins (3D models). We aim to project the results of the sensors into a digital twin so you can see the measurement values live as well as in a 3D view."
Feasibility voucher Smart Industry Hub Noordwest
Smart Industry Hub Noordwest helps companies from the technology sector in the provinces of North Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland to implement Smart Industry applications in the company and thereby improve its competitive position. The hub does this by organizing activities, providing concrete resources, and alerting entrepreneurs to initiatives and supporting them in them. One of these initiatives is the feasibility voucher. With this voucher, companies can submit a project for which they want to test the feasibility of implementing digitalization in the manufacturing process. Examples of applications include artificial intelligence, big data & data analytics, blockchain, 3D printing, robotics and sensors.