Hybrid Corrosion Protection for a Reinforced Concrete Cooling Tower: Design, Implementation and Performance 

Asset condition assessment is a critical part of asset management and maintenance. It is not uncommon to deal with access constraints, heights and difficult conditions when it comes to field asset inspection. The traditional inspection methods utilised (i.e., ground level inspection, boat, elevated work platform or rope access) can be both costly and time-consuming. 

With drones, the vast majority of the asset surface can be quickly ‘captured’ in high detail. The captured photographs can then be transformed into high resolution models, sometimes referred to as Digital Twin (or Precision Reality Twins). This provides the ability to navigate and inspect the asset and annotate defects at millimetre precision. Asset owners can then monitor their asset remotely at any time, and field engineers can target onsite inspection to those areas known to be critical, reducing overall costs and safety risks associated with the fieldwork.  

This paper will focus on specific examples of how the above approach has been used to streamline various asset inspections and maintenance works