The hot, dim, stale, coal-dusted inside of a TVA boiler holds little appeal for an inspector charged with examining its wear and tear, but robots created by Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Stephen Canfield and his students really don’t mind the environment.

Canfield and his students recently delivered two robots to TVA as part of numerous robotic projects being managed by Tennessee Tech for the nation’s largest public power company. The two robots now travel where men have gone before with considerable difficulty and risk to their safety.

“Our basic purpose was to provide robots you could load into the back of a truck, take to a remote site and equip with inspection instruments,” says Canfield.

“Instead of TVA inspectors climbing into the tanks and boilers, the robots are able to climb in and gather data about the general wear and tear going on inside.”

The robots, equipped with ultrasound thickness gauges and sometimes other specialized equipment, climb up and into the tanks and boilers to measure thinning, cracks and corrosion of the walls. Users record the information from the robots to create maps pinpointing where the wear is taking place. This information is transferred to a computer so that maintenance and repair decisions can be made.

Boilers, used to heat water and create steam to run TVA turbines, can be scary and dangerous for human inspectors.

“Inspectors usually go in soon after the boiler is shut down and face a number of challenges,” says Canfield. “They risk falling from the high, uneven surfaces; they face tremendous heat; and it’s hot, dark, full of coal dust and very poorly ventilated. Tanks present different challenges. They are smoother and less harsh, but they are free-standing outdoor structures that can be in precarious positions.”

Former TTU student Jamie Beard, who’s still associated with the project, learned firsthand about the precariousness of inspecting a tank. He and another colleague tested a robot and went along for the climb.

“We were scared, but the robot wasn’t,” says Beard. “The average tank is 40-50 feet, but this one was 200 feet tall, 30 feet in diameter, and hanging on the side of a dam about 50 feet off the ground. It’s obvious how robots have the potential to eliminate the dangers associated with inspections."

Canfield and students provide basic training for TVA users, teaching them to set up the specialized equipment on each robot for specific tasks. Canfield says the set up takes time, but driving the robot is just a matter of coordination and practice.