Underwater inspection system for nuclear power facilities

A system for inspection of a plurality of surfaces submerged at a predetermined location within a nuclear facility pool, the plurality of surfaces having a topography comprising a plurality of raised areas and lowered areas, the system comprising:

• a plurality of light sources for emitting an illuminating light to impinge upon the of the plurality of surfaces, each light source comprising a strobe light disposed at an angle with respect to an optical path that is substantially perpendicular to the plurality of surfaces so that a transition between a raised area and a lowered area of the plurality of raised and lowered areas is visually enhanced;
• a timing controller for selectively activating the light sources one at a time;
• a camera disposed along the optical path above the plurality of surfaces for receiving and detecting an image of the transition when illuminated by each light source and for generating a digital image signal representative of the image;
• a processor including an image processor for receiving the digital image signal corresponding to illumination by each light source and for combining and processing the digital image signals to generate a processed image of the topography;
• and
• a storage medium for storing the processed image and a corresponding set of data identifying the selected location within the pool.

A method for inspecting fuel cells submerged within a containment pool, the fuel cells being spaced apart from adjacent fuel cells at a cell spacing, and having a fuel cell surface with a plurality of edges, each fuel cell having a plurality of height differentials in the fuel cell surface relative to a background area, the method comprising:

• positioning a camera over the fuel cells at a known distance;
• illuminating the upper surface of the fuel cells using a plurality of light sources, each light source being positioned to emit light at an angle relative to the upper surface so that shadows are formed by the plurality of height differentials, and each light source being separated form other light sources so that a different set of shadows is formed corresponding to each light source;
• capturing an image of the shadows generated by each light source;
• and
• combining and image processing the images of the shadows from the plurality of light sources to generate an enhanced image.

A method for inspection of a plurality of surfaces submerged within a nuclear facility pool at a predetermined location, the plurality of surfaces having a topography comprising a plurality of raised areas and lowered areas, the method comprising:

• illuminating the plurality of surfaces using a plurality of light sources so that a transition between a raised area and a lowered area of the plurality of raised and lowered areas is visually enhanced, each light source comprising a strobe light;
• one at a time, selectively activating a timing controller for the light sources;
• positioning a camera having a field of view of the surface;
• detecting an image of the transition when illuminated by each light source;
• generating a digital image signal representative of the transition image;
• combining the digital image signal corresponding to illumination by each light source and processing the combined digital image signals to generate a processed image of the topography;
• and
• storing in a storage medium the processed image and a corresponding set of data identifying the selected location within the pool.