Adding Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement Probe to a BlueROV2

Third Party Products Sonar and Acoustics
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Hello all,

  1. We are looking to integrate a thickness measurement probe (UTM Gauge) into future BlueROV2, but before we purchase the ROV, we want to make sure that the probe can be fitted into the ROV, the details are here https://www.tritexndt.com/product/mg4000-underwater-thickness-gauges the manufacturer of the probe confirmed that their product can be mounted on any ROV, however they are asking the following question:

    Any comments on the above?

    Thank you

  2. We are not looking for CYGNUS probe to be added, as it does not include an A-Scan capabilities (which is very important for us), however, I noticed some posts here about the CYGNUS probe.

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Hi @Consultmaritimellc -
Happy to help!
We have evaluated the Cygnus probe in the past, and even made a BlueOS extension to display and log its data. I’m not familiar with A-Scan - what does that provide?

You’ll find that Blue Robotics is not like most ROV manufacturers - we are keen to divulge any and all information we can!

With that said, the BlueROV2 does not have any (external) ports for connecting devices. To integrate that gauge, you’ll want to adapt the RS232 output to USB or TTL serial voltage levels - see this guide. You can connect it straight to the power rails at the back of the ROV enclosure, since battery voltage is within the 9-30V DC range the sensor can accept. Once connected to power and data, you can forward the serial or USB (via adapter) data to the topside computer - VirtualHere will make your computer think you’ve plugged the gauge directly into it, rather than the ROV!

To bring the cable into the housing, you could use a WetLink Penetrator - selected based on what the outside diameter of the cable is. If you want to use a connector, you’d need to coordinate with the supplier to receive a unit with a connector and corresponding bulkhead connector. The ports on the ROV are 10mm in diameter, but could be drilled out and tapped to 7/16".

Finally, to physically mount the hardware to the ROV you can just attach it to the frame’s lower base plate, or use a payload skid to have more room. It may also work well on top, with a Roof Rack?

The 4100 series seems lightweight, but the 4400 series, at 2.5kg, may need some additional buoyancy attached to the ROV if you want it to be slightly positive… altitude hold will keep the ROV at depth with or without the buoyancy though!

If possible, it would be cool to have an idea of how much the thickness probe costs!

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Hi Tony

Thank you for your reply. Here are my comments:

  • While we do have a Deep Trekker ROV DTG3, and CYGNUS UTM probe can be attached easily on it, we do not prefer it as the DTG3 is limited for our future expansion and the ROV probe from CYGNUS does not provide A-Scan.

  • A-Scan: An A‑scan (Amplitude Scan) is the basic ultrasonic signal display used in ultrasonic testing. It shows the raw ultrasonic echoes returned from the material as a one‑dimensional graph of amplitude vs. time (or depth). The A-Scan is important for underwater thickness measurement or NDT as it lets the surveyor or operator see whether the thickness reading is coming from a true back‑wall echo or from a false echo generating from corrosion or coating.
    The A‑scan allows the operator to confirm that coating echoes are being ignored, and only steel back‑wall echoes are used for thickness calculation, it can provide a strong indication of corrosion and coating verification, which a typical underwater UTM probe (CYGNUS mini ROV) does not provide.

  • As for the BlueROV2, we will go with the heavy configuration, the UTM supplier will provide the probe holder (for the 4100 series).

  • The cost of the thickness probe depends (every ROV manufacturer provide different pricing based on how they configure it to the operator), for example if you want to purchase the CYGNUS Mini ROV probe directly from Deep Trekker it will cost around USD 11,000 including shipping to the US from Canada, while if you want to get it from CYGNUS directly but it will be missing the cable connecting the probe to the ROV (as only Deep Trekker provide it) the cost will be about USD 9,000.
    On the other hand, Tritex NDT quote us for the 4100 series around Sterling Pound 6,000 and they are ok to assist in working with us to configure it on the Blue ROV2.

  • The Blue ROV2 is a good option for us to expand our inspection business, it can be upgraded, while other ROV difficult to do that.

Thank you again and I hope the above explains.

Ayman

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