Multi-Objective Design Optimization of the Leg Mechanism for a Piping Inspection Robot (original) (raw)
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Design of a Piping Inspection Robot by Optimization Approach
2020
This article presents an optimization approach for the design of an inspection robot that can move inside variable diameter pipelines having bends and junctions. The inspection robot uses a mechanical design that mimics the locomotion of a caterpillar. The existing prototype developed at LS2N, France is a rigid model that makes it feasible for working only inside straight pipelines. By the addition of a tensegrity mechanism between motor units, the robot is made reconfigurable. However, the motor units used in the prototype are oversized to pass through pipe bends or junctions. An optimization approach is employed to determine the dimensions of motors and their associated leg mechanisms that can overcome such bends. Two optimization problems are defined and solved in this article. The first problem deals with the determination of motor sizing without leg mechanisms. The second problem deals with the determination of sizing of the leg mechanism with respect to the dimensions of motor...
Mechanical Design Optimization of a Piping Inspection Robot
Procedia CIRP, 2018
The piping inspection for security or sealing checking is an important challenge when the internal diameter of the pipe is small with respect to its length. Some mechanisms using closed loops are able to generate contact forces and deployable structures. By using bio-inspired design, we present a mechanism which is able to move inside pipes by mimicking the motion of a caterpillar. The mechanism is composed of three sections, one for the motion and two with legs that are attached with the inner part of the pipe. A compliant mechanism is proposed to add mobility between the three sections of the robot in order to cross the singularity of the pipe. The results coming from a multi-objective optimization process is used to set the geometric and kinematic parameters of the mechanism taking into account the environmental and design constraints. A mechatronic system is proposed that uses industrial components namely DC motors, ball-screws and servo controllers which can be inserted in the pipe. For horizontal and vertical motions, the contact forces and the motor torques are computed to check the feasibility of the clamping. A prototype made at Laboratoire des Sciences du Numérique de Nantes (LS2N) is used to show the behavior of this concept for slow motions.
An Optimal Design of a Flexible Piping Inspection Robot
Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics
This study presents an optimization approach for the design of a piping inspection robot. A rigid bio-inspired piping inspection robot that moves like a caterpillar was designed and developed at LS2N, France. By the addition of tensegrity mechanisms between the motor modules, the mobile robot becomes flexible to pass through the bends. However, the existing motor units prove to be oversized for passing through pipe bends at 90 deg. Thus, three cascading optimization problems are presented in this article to determine the sizing of robot assembly that can overcome such pipe bends. The first problem deals with the identification of design parameters of the tensegrity mechanism based on static stability. Followed by that, in the second problem, the optimum design parameters of the robot modules are determined for the robot assembly without the presence of leg mechanisms. The third problem deals with the determination of the size of the leg mechanism for the results of the two previous ...
IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2016
From the beginning of development of the pipeline inspection robots, different drive mechanisms have been proposed for distinctive purposes and specifications. Due to sensitive environment of oil pipelines and restrictions of innovations in petroleum industry in general, designing propelling system for robots are quiet cost-intensive and hard. In most cases, such innovations end up reinventing existing systems and approaches. Therefore, guidelines of innovation in petroleum industry should begin to develop and an open innovation platform for oil industry should begin to be built. This paper intends to define the main points and variables of in-pipe inspection locomotion and build guidelines for decision making tool to help developers to define needs and requirements to design drive mechanisms for distinctive requisitions that fulfill predefined requirements and specifications of robotic developments. This work intends to take a novel approach of guideline formation of Pipeline Robotics for the sake of cost saving in robotics. This guidelines is the beginning of definition of a whole decision making tool for In-Pipe Inspection robot's drive systems designs and developments.
Modelling and Analysis of Pipe Inspection Robot
2013
Robots are used to remove human being from laborious and dangerous work. This project describes an in- pipe inspection robot. This robot consist of a fore leg system, a rear leg system and a body. The fore and rear leg systems are constructed by using three worm gear system that are arranged at an angle of 120 degree with respect to each other to operate inside a pipe of different diameters. The springs are attached to each leg and the robot body to operate in pipes of 140mm to 200mm diameter range. Here, all major components of robot are designed. Modelling and assembly of robot components is done in Solidworks 11. Stress analysis of all major components is done in Solidworks 11 and Static stress analysis of proposed in-pipe inspection robot assembly is carried out in Ansys 13. This robot is used for offline visual inspection of gas pipelines, water pipelines and drain pipes etc. This robot also has wide applications in chemical industries as well as in gulf countries for inspectio...
Reconfigurable multi-legs robot for pipe inspection: Design and gait movement
2019
This paper focuses on studies on reconfigurable multi acquire findings on how multi-legs robot can walk, climb vertical pipe and walk along the horizontal pipe after climbing. Three degrees of freedom (3DOF) multi pipeline or to check on vertical and horizontal pipes. The robot system is tested to climb the vertical pipe and then move along horizontal pipe for inspection or other purposes. This can reduce the cost and percentage of human risk exposure during inspection on outer pipe. This multi speed, wheeled robot possesses greater advantages. Therefore, this system design has combination of both wheel and multiple legs ensure that the to system has higher stability, more gait movement, and higher speed manoeuvrability. The gaits analysis for the system movement includes a operation, either walking, climbing or hanging. The target result is the system able to climb 500 mm height with 85 mm radius pipe. The potential applications for the system are: Be equipped with ultrasonic senso...
Mathematical modelling, design and fabrication of pipe inspection robot
International Conference on Contents, Computing & Communication (ICCCC-2022), 2022
Robotics has many applications in today's era. Pipes were used to keep the fluid transmitter safe. However, these pipes are affected by fatigue, cracking, leakage, sediment, breaking down, humid environment, and chemical reaction, which causes rust and fatigue. All of these issues are related to the installation and maintenance of pipes in various applications. In the latest technology inspections of pipes done by using the robot controller reduce the inspection time and preventive repairs activity. But due to certain circumstances, ther e may be a chance of unfit pipes conditions. In this experiment has been study method of operations, robot movement, mechanisms, and benefits. Then, by using CATIA software important parameter has to be considered like designing and drafting This construction has a well-designed mechanism. To validate the software results, a series of experiments was conducted with visual report, camera and GUI toolbox. The use of a mini-cam for visualising in-pipe inspections or other devices required for detecting failures that appear in the inner part of pipes using measuring systems with lasers, sensors, and so on. In this research inside pipe modular robotic system is proposed inside of the pipes. Testing has been done for different movement and different slopes. The important thing is the amount of force between robot tracked units and pipe wall.
Numerical and Experimental Validation of the Prototype of A Bio-Inspired Piping Inspection Robot
Robotics
Piping inspection robots are of greater importance for industries such as nuclear, chemical and sewage. Mechanisms having closed loop or tree-like structures can be employed in such pipelines owing to their adaptable structures. A bio-inspired caterpillar type piping inspection robot was developed at Laboratoire des Sciences du Numérique de Nantes (LS2N), France. Using DC motors and leg mechanisms, the robot accomplishes the locomotion of a caterpillar in six-steps. With the help of Coulomb’s law of dry friction, a static force model was written and the contact forces between legs of robot and pipeline walls were determined. The actuator forces of the DC motors were then estimated under static phases for horizontal and vertical orientations of the pipeline. Experiments were then conducted on the prototype where the peak results of static force analysis for a given pipe diameter were set as threshold limits to attain static phases inside a test pipeline. The real-time actuator forces...
Robots are used to remove human being from laborious and dangerous work. This project describes an inpipe inspection robot. This robot consist of a fore leg system, a rear leg system and a body. The fore and rear leg systems are constructed by using three worm gear system that are arranged at an angle of 120 degree with respect to each other to operate inside a pipe of different diameters. The springs are attached to each leg and the robot body to operate in pipes of 140mm to 200mm diameter range. Here, all major components of robot are designed. Modelling and assembly of robot components is done in Solidworks 11. Stress analysis of all major components is done in Solidworks 11 and Static stress analysis of proposed in-pipe inspection robot assembly is carried out in Ansys 13. This robot is used for offline visual inspection of gas pipelines, water pipelines and drain pipes etc. This robot also has wide applications in chemical industries as well as in gulf countries for inspection of oil and gas pipelines.
Investigations of Design Issues Related To In-Pipe Inspection Robots
— Basically robots are designed in such way that they remove human intervention from labour intensive and hazardous work environment; sometimes they are also used to explore inaccessible work places which are generally impossible to access by humans. The inspection of pipe comes in same category because they carry toxic chemicals, fluids and most of the time has small internal diameter or bends which become inaccessible to human. The complex internal geometry and hazard content constraints of pipes demand robots for inspection of such pipes in order to check corrosion level of pipe, recovery of usable parts from pipe interior, sampling of sludge and scale formation on pipe internal surface etc. Several designs of in-pipe inspection robots have been proposed in the literature to solve the problems related with inspection of these complicated internal geometries. It is felt that a review of the design issues considered in various developed models would help to compare their main features and their relative advantages or limitations to allow choose the most suitable design for a particular application and also throw light on aspects that needs further attention. In view of above, this paper presents investigation of design issues pertaining to development of in-pipe inspection robotics.