Method and system for drafting a map for a “tube-sheet”
A tester and a method that evaluate the condition of a bundle of plurality of tubes are disclosed. Embodiments of the tester obtains an image of a tube-sheet of the bundle; obtaining one or more parameters related to the tube-sheet image. Next one or more feature-detecting methods can be implemented on the tube-sheet image to define tube endings on a grid of the tube-sheet. Further, optimization methods can be implemented on the results and a map with the result can be presented to a user of the tester. Feedback from the user can be utilized to improve the map of the tube sheet.
1. An advance tube inspection equipment (ATIE), comprising:
a processor;
a measuring probe; and
a digital camera;
wherein the digital camera captures an image of a tube-sheet of a bundle of a plurality of tubes and loads the image of the tube-sheet to the processor;
wherein the processor analyzes the image of the tube-sheet received from the digital camera and defines a map with a location of one or more tubes over the tube-sheet image; and
wherein the measuring probe, based on the defined map, is associated with one or more tubes in the bundle of the plurality of tubes and transmits and receives measuring signals to and from a currently associated tube, converts the received measuring signals into electronic measuring signals and transfers the electronic measuring signals toward the processor.
2. The ATIE of claim 1 , wherein the processor uses the map for controlling the association of the measuring probe with a next tube to be measured.
3. The ATIE of claim 1 , wherein the processor analyzes the tube-sheet image data received from the digital camera comprises applying one or more image-processing methods on the imaged before defining the map.
4. The ATIE of claim 3 , wherein the one or more image-processing methods comprises contrast enhancement.
5. The ATIE of claim 1 , wherein the processor analyzes the tube-sheet image data received from the digital camera by applying one or more feature-detecting methods for defining the map.
6. The ATIE of claim 5 , wherein the one or more feature-detecting methods comprises boundary tracking for domain identification method.
7. The ATIE of claim 5 , wherein the one or more feature-detecting methods comprises correlation between a tube-ending sample and a rest of the image.
8. The ATIE of claim 5 , wherein the one or more feature-detecting methods comprises circular/elliptical Hough transform.
9. The ATIE of claim 5 , wherein the one or more feature-detecting methods comprises quad-tree decomposition.
10. The ATIE of claim 5 , wherein the processor analyzes the tube-sheet image data received from the digital camera further by optimizing a results received from the features-detecting method to reach an objective function.
11. The ATIE of claim 10 , wherein the objective function minimizes a number of false positive detections.
12. The ATIE of claim 10 , wherein the objective function maximizes an average correlation.
13. The ATIE of claim 10 , wherein the objective function maximizes a number of detections of tube endings.
14. The ATIE of claim 10 , wherein the objective function minimizes a number of false negative detection.
15. The ATIE of claim 5 , wherein the processor obtains one or more parameters about the tube-sheet that are used by the one or more feature-detecting methods.
16. The ATIE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more parameters include information on a diameter of a tube in the tube sheet image.
17. The ATIE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more parameters include information on a grid of the tube sheet image.
18. The ATIE of claim 17 , wherein the information on the grid of the tube sheet includes pitch information.
19. The ATIE of claim 15 , wherein the one or more parameters include region of interest over the tube sheet that defines an area in the tube-sheet image to be covered by the map.