ScopeX In-Tank Inspection System
Underground fuel storage tanks used in fuel stations may deform over time due to exposure to environmental conditions, become subject to corrosion, and in some cases suffer structural damage that can lead to leakage. Due to the nature of these tanks, directly and safely inspecting the internal surfaces using existing technologies is highly challenging. Without physically intervening in the tank structure, in other words without cutting the tank, inserting inspection equipment into the interior is not practically feasible.
The access openings (manholes) that provide entry to the tank interior are typically limited to diameters of 2” or 3”, which are too narrow to accommodate standard cameras or conventional imaging systems. Moreover, introducing any electrical equipment into the tank requires the tank to be made gas-free beforehand. This process necessitates completely emptying the tank and removing fuel vapors from the environment, resulting in additional operational costs and significant time loss.
The system can operate in both manual and fully automatic modes. The internal surface of the tank is captured with 360-degree imaging, and the collected visual data is combined and overlaid with 3D laser measurement data of the tank’s internal geometry. This integrated approach enables the creation of a detailed three-dimensional virtual model of the tank interior, allowing deformation, corrosion, and potential risks to be visualized and analyzed comprehensively in a digital environment.