Storage Tank Inspection Simulator: MFL Floor Scanning and UT Shell Surveys
The storage tank is one of two dedicated installations in Atlantis Practical NDT, with floor and shell inspection on a full-size tank. On the floor the trainee drives a magnetic flux leakage (MFL) scanner and watches the live MFL trace and an estimated wall-loss C-scan build up; on the shell the job is an ultrasonic thickness survey. The catalogue lists 16 MFL jobs, in which the trainee drives a floor scanner over the tank floor.
MFL floor screening
- Drive the floor scanner across the floor plates.
- Watch the live MFL trace and the estimated wall-loss C-scan as they build up.
- Respect the edge and weld exclusion zones the scanner cannot cover, which the model includes.
- Switch the reference overlay of planted defects on for teaching; it is labelled as a teaching display, not inspection evidence.
- Use the teaching cutaway, with the shell opened, to follow the scanner across the floor from outside the tank.
Why the floor is screened, and what MFL cannot see
Tank floors lose metal from the product side and from the soil side, and the soil-side loss cannot be seen from inside the tank at all. MFL screening finds areas of wall-loss response quickly across a large floor, and the areas it flags are then proved up by ultrasonic thickness measurement. The exclusion zones matter as much as the scan: next to the shell and over lap welds the scanner cannot work, so those zones need another method, and a floor report that ignores them is incomplete. Practising the scan pattern and the exclusion zones on a virtual tank costs nothing; learning them on a real one costs a shutdown day.
Shell thickness surveys
The shell jobs are ultrasonic thickness surveys, part of the UT catalogue, so the discipline of the UT simulator applies: couplant, calibration on references, and a calibration you do not disturb once it is set. The shell is also where work at height comes in, and work at height on storage tanks is exactly the kind of practice the research on virtual training says suits simulation best, because the real thing is dangerous and costly to repeat.
On a screen or in a headset
The tank runs in a browser and on standalone headsets through WebXR, with hand tracking or controllers, stick locomotion and snap turning. Entering the headset pauses the inspection, and losing a controller releases the tool rather than leaving it in an undefined state. Offline packs, with lighter models for phones and headsets, let a technician practise without a connection.
What the tank jobs reference
The jobs follow the twelve-step training procedure with pinned revisions. On a real tank, the inspection plan and the acceptance of floor and shell readings belong to the owner's tank inspector under API 653; the simulator's training report states that code acceptance is not evaluated, and the wall-loss C-scan is an estimate for teaching, not a measurement. For the real work, see API 653 tank inspection and the API 653 tank inspection guide.
What a virtual tank cannot reproduce
Confined-space entry, ventilation and gas testing, floor plates that are wet, scaled or coated, debris and sludge, the weight of a real scanner and the heat inside a tank in summer are not on a screen. The MFL response is a wall-loss screening model, not a validated sizing tool. The simulator prepares the technique; the real floor teaches the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Can I practise tank floor MFL without a tank?
Yes. In the catalogue's 16 MFL jobs you drive a floor scanner over the tank floor, read the live trace and the estimated wall-loss C-scan, and work around the edge and weld exclusion zones.
Is the wall-loss C-scan a measurement?
No. It is an estimated wall-loss display for teaching. Areas flagged on a real floor are proved up by ultrasonic thickness measurement.
What does the reference overlay show?
The planted defects, switched on for teaching. It is labelled as a reference only, not inspection evidence.
Next steps
Practical NDT is a training simulation, not a validated engineering tool. It runs in a standard browser, works offline once downloaded, extends to standalone headsets and is integrated with the Atlantis LMS and ERP, so learners reach it from the client portal with one sign-in. Practice in it does not replace the practical examination or the experience hours your written practice requires.
Speak to an ASNT NDT Level III
Discuss your inspection requirements with Atlantis NDT. Include the asset, method, location and documents you need reviewed.