In recent years, improvement of the operational rate by shortening the shutdown period of thermal power plants has been highly sought after, and in particular, the shortening of forced outage periods and the prevention of failures in boilers have become important issues. During periodic inspections of boilers, temporary scaffolding construction in the furnace becomes an essential task, and the drastic shortening of the shutdown period becomes possible if this temporary scaffolding is eliminated. Accordingly, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Mitsubishi Hitachi power systems, Ltd. (MHPS) focused on drones, which have recently seen remarkable technical advancement, to develop a drone usable for initial investigations (identification of leaking parts) of unexpected tube leaks, as well as for intermediate inspections, without requiring the installation of scaffolding. This report describes the characteristics of the developed drone and inspection cases carried out in an actual boiler. This technology is expected to be applied not only to boilers, but also to other industries such as in the inspection of indoor facilities in which GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) cannot be used.
