Call for Rapid Internal Inspection Technologies Solutions

Is your startup working on innovative technologies for 3D scanning or remote plant inspections by robots or drones? 

If so, our call for projects should be of interest to you!

What we are looking for 

We are seeking solutions that are designed for:

• 3D Scanning by drones or robotic systems

• Video and infrared inspections under rough industrial conditions inside of confined spaces and outdoors

• Other innovative scanning and inspection technologies

If you’re onto something new and disruptive, we want to hear from you!

Our technical use cases

1.  Scanning

The interior of the blast furnace is exposed to extreme conditions (temperature, pressure, mechanical impact through raw material descent and turbulence of dust-loaded gas). In order to resist these high temperatures, the inner walls of the blast furnace vessel are typically equipped with a combination of refractories and cooling elements (cooled panels, so-called staves), latter being made out of various material combinations.

Despite numerous improvements made for many decades, those are still subject to wear, cracks, cladding that we need to identify.

Therefore we are looking for technologies that can generate an accurate 3D scan/model of the blast furnace interior during the shut-down phases, which are often time critical.

The surrounding conditions for any such technological solution are:

• Temperature of ~50°C

• Normal breathable air (with very low CO levels controlled through CO detectors)

• Normally low levels of dust, but this cannot be guaranteed

• Darkness / low visibility

The capabilities sought after in any scanning technology are:

• Surface scanning of a ~20-30 m high and ~10-15 m diameter vessel within 30 min or max. 1 hour interval

• Measurement of surface with <3mm depth accuracy, ideally ~1mm

• Absolute measurement of radius with <3mm accuracy

• Comparative analysis between two measurements (of same locations)

• Optional: Distinction of materials (accretion layer, refractory bricks, copper or cast iron) would be a strong advantage

2.  Inspection

In addition to inner scanning during shut downs described here above, an external infrared scanning of major industrial equipment could give a good indication of their operational status.

Typical areas of internal damages lead to hot spots on the exterior shell or equipment. Some of the critical areas are difficult to access or are dangerous areas due to potential high temperatures and risk of CO gas contamination.

Therefore drones equipped with infrared cameras could be used to monitor these areas and to automate these cyclic inspection rounds.

These rounds would take partially place in indoor and outdoor environment.

Future applications might include internal inspection of small confined spaces, inspection in conditions with increased temperatures or even special inspections or interventions executed remotely by drones or robots.

See illustrations of the working environment here

Who we are

We are Paul Wurth, a worldwide industrial technology provider that fosters a continuous capacity to innovate as we are convinced that innovation is the key factor for maintaining the competitive lead on the market. 

What we are offering 

Our proposal through that call operated by Paul Wurth InCub, the entrepreneurial arm of the company, is to share our technological expertise in developing market ready solutions with young, innovative companies, through cooperative technology development, field testing and other business development activities. We have the capability to accelerate your product development and market access. 

As for your current stage of development

We know some new technologies are either difficult or expensive to bring to the market, so what we require is a validated proof of concept (POC). The more you have the more we can help you scale. 

You have what it takes to impress our panel of experts? 

Our invitation to APPLY: 

Please submit your application describing your technology value proposition till 12.03.2018 through the link below. Our scouting team will then review your application and be in touch if they feel you’re on to something promising! We’ll then schedule an interview with our selection jury at our Luxembourg HQ.

Knowing more about this OFFER?

You will get the opportunity to develop your business by a startup-corporate collaboration with Paul Wurth S.A. and our #InduTech members. During the incubation period in our InCub, you will get supported by our experts. For more information please visit www.indu.tech