Benefits at a glance
Complete range of remote visual inspection cameras to fit all pipe diameters
Durable stainless steel pipe inspection camera for harsh environment
All in-one solution for diverse applications in production, quality and maintenance
Customer needs
CERN, Europe’s nuclear research organization, was established in 1954 to provide a platform for scientists worldwide to delve into the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Housed in a vast underground tunnel near Geneva, CERN is home to the LHC, the world’s largest particle accelerator. This intricate machine, with its superconducting magnets and advanced detection systems, requires meticulous maintenance to ensure its optimal performance.
CERN’s production facilities meticulously inspect welds on components destined for the particle accelerator to ensure they meet stringent quality standards for tightness and cryogenic performance. This is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency and personnel safety throughout the testing and operation of superconducting magnets. A weld failure could compromise the integrity of the superconducting magnets, leading to severe operational disruptions that would necessitate a shutdown of the LHC. The repair process involves several critical steps:
- Warming up the magnets: To perform repairs, superconducting magnets, which operate at near absolute zero, must be warmed to a temperature that causes them to lose their superconducting properties.
- Repairs: After warming, the magnets can be accessed for remote visual inspection and repair of the faulty weld.
- Cooling down the magnets: Once repaired, the magnets need to be cooled back down to their superconducting temperature, a lengthy and delicate process.
Each stage of this process is complex and time-consuming, resulting in extended LHC downtime. This can significantly disrupt research schedules and ongoing experiments, potentially delaying groundbreaking discoveries.
Consequently, weld inspections are crucial at CERN to ensure the optimal performance and uptime of the LHC’s cryogenic systems. For the latest superconducting magnets, this involves inspecting pipes as long as 15 meters and with diameters ranging from 48.3 to 104 mm.
The LHC, commissioned in 2010, explores high-energy physics beyond the Standard Model.
3D cut-away of the LHC dipole showing its internal pipework.
The solution : Visioprobe pipe inspection camera
Partnering with Foretec for their expertise in remote visual inspection, CERN sought the optimal welding inspection solution. As a result, they chose Visioprobe, a range of high-quality, reliable, and modular rotating industrial inspection cameras developed by Foretec to meet specific customer needs.
/// Visioprobe pipe inspection camera Ø28 mm (VP28X)
/// Visioprobe pipe inspection camera Ø45 mm (VP45X)
/// 30m reel with push rods
/// Various sizes of custom-made centering sleeves, manufactured at CERN
Visioprobe is a range of pan&tilt industrial inspection cameras, offering image quality, reliability, and modularity.
CERN has selected the 28mm and the 45 mm pipe inspection camera to address the various pipe configurations to be inspected. The remote visual inspection cameras were chosen in stainless steel for their robustness and durability in view of the number of welds to be controlled and to be compatible with the pipes inspected, which are also in stainless steel. The 30-meter push rod, wound on a reel, allows the pipe camera to be easily advanced to the end of the sections to be checked. The custom-made centers, made with the support of Foretec, adapt to all types of pipes to ensure a central and stable position for the pipe inspection camera, allowing for better quality images and videos and easier identification of defects inside the pipe.
To expand its visual inspection capabilities for smaller pipes and components, CERN has added a VEF videoscope to its remote visual inspection equipment.
By integrating the Visioprobe remote visual inspection system, CERN’s production teams can efficiently perform weld inspections, preventing costly repairs and downtime. The pipe camera’s high image quality, user-friendliness, and durability have made it a valuable asset for CERN’s quality control processes, leading to its adoption in various other departments for additional visual inspection tasks.