1. A remote unmanned vehicle (100) for inspection of a submerged structure, the vehicle
(100) comprising:
a base (101a);
a frame structure (104) connected to the base (101a), wherein the frame structure (104)
comprises:
at least two support bars (10) connected to the base (101a) along an axis (A-A);
a connecting link (20) connected to the at least two support bars (10) perpendicular to the
axis (A-A), wherein the connecting link (20) is defined with a housing (50) to accommodate
a control unit (52);
a pair of probes (30a, 30b) movably mounted on the connecting link (20) and are
communicatively coupled to the control unit (52), wherein each one of the pair of probes
(30a, 30b) is configured to transmit and receive an ultrasonic pulse signal from the
submerged structure; and
wherein the control unit (52) is configured to trigger the pair of probes (30a, 30b) to
determine an ultrasonic pulse velocity upon contact with the submerged structure to
evaluate a plurality of parameters of the submerged structure.
2. The vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the remote unmanned vehicle (100)
comprises:
a body (101) defined with at least one pair of side sub-frames (101c, 101d) extending from
the base (101a) and arranged parallel to each other;
a top mounting frame (101b) mounted on the at least one pair of side sub-frames (101c,
101d);
at least one imaging source (103) connected to the top frame (101b), the at least one imaging
source (103) is configured to capture an image and video data of the submerged structure
during inspection; and
a plurality of thrusters (102) connected to at least one pair of side sub-frames (101c, 101d)
of the body (101), wherein the plurality of thrusters (102) are configured to propel and
manoeuvre the remote unmanned vehicle (100) underwater.
3. The vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprises a plurality of sensors (54)
mounted on the connecting link (20) to determine a distance between the pair of probes
(30a, 30b) and the submerged structure to generate one or more signals.
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4. The vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprises an actuator (56) connected to
the pair of probes, wherein the actuator is configured to displace the pair of probes (30a,
30b) to contact with the submerged structure.
5. The vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control unit (52) is
communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensors (54) to receive the one or more signals
when the remote unmanned vehicle approaches a predefined distance with respect to the
submerged structure.
6. The vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 4, the control unit (52) is communicatively
coupled to the actuator (56) and the control unit is configured to actuate the actuator (56)
upon receipt of the one or more signals generated by the plurality of sensors (54).
7. The vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of probes (30a, 30b)
comprises a transmitter (30a) and a receiver (30b) to transmit and receive the ultrasonic
pulse signals through the submerged structure.
8. The vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit (52) is configured
to measure a time of travel of the ultrasonic pulse passing through the submerged structure
to obtain the ultrasonic pulse velocity.
9. The vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the actuator is at least one of a
linear actuator and a rotary actuator.
10. The vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of parameters include
rigidity, porosity, roughness, surface flaws, subsurface flaws, thickness variations, internal
cracks, laminations, shrinkage cavities and bonding faults.