In December 2018, pipeline ruptures of heat-transport pipelines in locations including Goyang, Gyeonggi Province; Mok-dong, Seoul; and Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, which injured dozens of people, have emerged as major safety issues every winter. The need for continuous diagnostics of aging pipelines and for technical measures to prevent recurrence has grown.

For exposed heat-transport pipelines, inspectors can approach and perform precise nondestructive testing to diagnose cracks and corrosion relatively accurately. However, pipelines buried underground are difficult for personnel to access directly, creating a limit that makes remote nondestructive inspection using robots essential.

In this context, researchers at Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) have attracted attention by developing an artificial intelligence-based nondestructive testing robot that can enter underground district heating pipelines and remotely diagnose cracks and corrosion. This research outcome recently received an Excellent Presentation Award at the Summer Conference of the Korean Society of Fluid Machinery, recognizing its technical feasibility.

At the conference, JBNU master's student Yurim Go (Los Alamos National Laboratory-Jeonbuk National University Engineering Institute-Korea, supervised by Professor Seongho Choi) conducted an in-depth analysis of overseas pipeline nondestructive testing robot technology development trends and proposed a nondestructive testing robot model optimized for the district heating pipeline environment. In particular, the core technologies and applicability of the AI-based nondestructive testing robot currently under development were presented and received favorable reviews.

The AI-based nondestructive testing robot being developed at the institute can diagnose pipeline damage inside underground heat-transport pipelines using a non-contact method. The nondestructive testing data are analyzed by artificial intelligence rather than by an inspector, automatically determining the presence of cracks and corrosion. This is expected to improve both the accuracy and speed of field diagnostics.

The master's student commented, 'With the help of members of the Nondestructive Evaluation Laboratory, I was able to achieve good results,' and added, 'I intend to concentrate on further research and development to contribute to the advancement of AI-based nondestructive testing robot technology.'

Meanwhile, the Los Alamos National Laboratory-Jeonbuk National University Engineering Institute-Korea Nondestructive Evaluation Laboratory (NDE Lab) conducts research on nondestructive evaluation technologies across various industrial areas, including AI-based nondestructive testing, remote nondestructive testing robots, nondestructive testing for carbon composite materials, and nondestructive testing for the aerospace and defense industries.