In-pipe Inspection Robot

1. BASIL PAUL
S7 ME A
Roll No. 46
Department of Mechanical Engineering
SNM Institute of Management and Technology, Maliankara
Ernakulam
GUIDE : RAMDAS E.R
IN-PIPE INSPECTION ROBOT WITH
AQAMAND SHM

2. OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
1. Introduction
2. Objective
3. In-Pipe Inspection Robot
4. Advantages Of In-Pipe Inspection Robots
5. Problems Faced By In-Pipe Inspection Robots
6. In-Pipe Inspection Robot With AQAM & SHM
7. Changing Orientation With The SHM
8. Locomotion Characteristics & Control Strategy
9. Prototype
10. Conclusion
References
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3. Pipe lines have been used as major tools for transporting gas, water, oil etc…
which are crucial to every day life
Various problems may occur inside pipelines due to ageing and external impact
Regular inspection inside pipes is strongly recommended in order to extend the
life expectancy & to avoid unexpected accidents
IN-PIPE INSPECTION ROBOTS have thus received special attention
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INTRODUCTION

4. OBJECTIVE
4
• Objective of this seminar is to introduce new inspection robot
with a modified design.

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WHAT IS IPIR ?
In Pipe Inspection Robots are wired or wireless mini
Robots that are used in the internal inspection of Pipe
lines.

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ADVANTAGES OF IN-PIPE INSPECTION
ROBOTS
 No need for manned entry for inspection
 Capable of performing short and long-range inspections under various operating
conditions
 Can be used in pipe lines dealing with toxic substances

7. 7
PROBLEMS FACED BY IN PIPE INSPECTION ROBOTS
The robot got stuck,
# on obstacles present inside pipe
# in a zero-radius of curvature branch due to a lack of space for turning.

8. 8
DESIGN
Proposed Robot With AQAM and SHM

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ADAPTABLE QUAD ARM MECHANISM (AQAM) &
SWIVEL HAND MECHANISM (SHM)
 The AQAM allows the robot to travel in reduced branch pipes and branch pipes
with zero-radius of curvature, which are both common in real life but which pose a
challenge to the previously developed in-pipe robots.
 The SHM enables the robot to change its orientation, and in particular, allows it to
bypass bumps.

10. 10
AQAM
• The AQAM consists of the body, the arms, and the springs that connect the components
• When the wheel contacts to the inner wall of pipe, the arm will be rotated with respect to the
body by the contacting force which is generated by the moment due to the length difference
between spring 1 and spring 2.

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• Using this mechanism, a robot can travel through various branch pipe shapes
simply by changing the direction of rotation of each wheel.
• Two issues need to be considered to design an AQAM that will allow the
robot to travel in branches of the desired sizes.
• The first issue is overcoming the gravitational force experienced by the robot
during travel in vertically positioned branches.
• The second issue is overcoming spring moment with the torque generated by
motors in the arms to turn in a branch.

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SHM
Wire mechanism for rack control

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Swivel hand mechanism: (a) Wheel axis rotating mode, and (b) hand rotating mode.

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Paths according to the angle of the hand with respect to
the arm
0°
Straight
30°
Gentle Helical
60°
Sharp Helical
90°
Rotating
Motions produced in response to the four different modes of hand rotation

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LOCOMOTION CHARACTERISTICS AND CONTROL
STRATEGY
(a)Branches : changing the rotation direction of the wheels
TO MAKE THE ROBOT TURN INTO A BRANCHED HOLE
1. The operator should first orient the robot's body appropriately using the SHM, then rotate
wheels 1 and 2 clockwise, and wheels 3 and 4 counterclockwise until wheels 1 and 2
approach the edges of the branch (Fig. (a)-①).
2. Next, if the operator rotates wheels 2 and 3 clockwise and wheels 1 and
4counterclockwise, the robot will turn into the branch, adapting to its configuration
(Fig. (a)-②, ③).

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(b) Elbow : changing the velocity of the wheels.
TO MAKE THE ROBOT SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATE ELBOWS
1.The robot can also successfully navigate elbows by applying different velocities to the wheels.
2.the wheels that are in contact with the larger radius of curvature (ρ1) part of the elbow pipe
should rotate faster and the wheels in contact with the smaller radius of curvature (ρ2) of the
elbow pipe should rotate slower.
3.In addition, the structure of the AQAM makes it possible for the robot to navigate bumpy pipes
as well as straight pipes of various diameters.

17. 17
THE PROTOTYPE OF THE IN-PIPE ROBOT
• Prototype of the pipe robot has Four DCmotors (4.22W, D & J Corp., Korea)were employed
for the wheels in its arms and one DCmotor (3.92W, Faulhaber group, Germany) for the SHM
in its body.
• An external power supply was used and the robot communicated with a computer.
• A commercially available bike brake cable with a low friction coefficient was used for the
wire mechanism for the SHM.
• The robot measured 280 mm×280 mm×90mm (L×H×H) and had a weight of 3.6 kg.

18. 18
BRANCH PIPE TRAVELLING
a)

19. 19
b)

20. 20
ELBOW TRAVELLING EXPERIMENT
• The prototype was able to traverse an elbow pipe with a diameter of 305 regardless
of the direction of gravity.
• In the future, a sensor that can detect the configuration of the elbow pipe can be used
to calculate the radius of the curvature of the pipe.

21. 21
CHANGING ORIENTATION
The robot is made to travel in a straight pipe of diameter 305 mm in helical motions.
The angle of rotation of the wheel (δ) was measured when the robot turned 90° (φ)
with respect to the pipe using 30°, 60°, and 90° hand rotation modes, respectively

22. 22
EVALUATION OF THE HAND ROTATION MECHANISM
1) The pulley pulls the rack gears through the inner wires. Because the rack and the
pinion gears are fixed, when the DC motors in the four arms operate, the hands
rotate as shown
2) When the hands reach the desired positions, the inner wires and the springs on the
hands push the hanger in the rack into the pre-punctured hole in the arms.
3) When the DC motors operate in this situation, the wheels rotate while the hands do
not, as shown .

23. CONCLUSION
 The proposed robot employs a swivel hand mechanism (SHM) and an
adaptable quad arm mechanism (AQAM)
 The combination of AQAM and SHM mechanisms enables the robot to
traverse various types of pipe configurations, including branches, elbows,
and vertical pipes.
 For real application to industries, the robot needs to be equipped with a
sensing mechanism to detect the location of the branched holes and
bumps. The next version of this robot would be equipped with this
mechanism.
 Expect that the next generation of this robot will have high possibility of
application to practical pipe inspection fields
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24. REFERENCES
1. Dongwoo Lee , Jungwan Park, Dongjun Hyun, GyungHwan Yook, Hyun-seok Yang
“Novel mechanisms and simple locomotion strategies for an in-pipe robot that can
inspect various pipe types” Mechanism and Machine Theory,2012
2. Nur Shahida Roslin, Adzly Anuar, Muhammad Fairuz Abdul Jalal,Khairul Salleh
Mohamed Sahari: “A Review: Hybrid Locomotion of In-pipe Inspection Robot”, Procedia
Engineering 41 ( 2012 ) 1456 – 1462.
3. Md Raziq Asyraf Md Zin, Khairul Salleh Mohamed Sahari*, Juniza Md Saad, Adzly Anuar,
Abd Talip Zulkarnain” Development of a Low Cost Small Sized In-Pipe Robot” Robotics
and Intelligent Sensors 2012
4. Liu Qingyou a, Ren Tao b, Yonghua Chen c,” Characteristic analysis of a novel in-pipe
driving robot” Mechatronics 23 (2013) 419–428
5. Mohd Zafri Baharuddin, et. al., “Robot for Boiler Header Inspection LS-01”” Procedia
Engineering 41 ( 2012 ) 1483 – 1489
6. O.Tatar, D.Mandru, I. Ardelean” Development of mobile minirobots for in pipe
inspection tasks”, ISSN 1392 - 1207. MECHANIKA. 2007. Nr.6(68)
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25. THANK YOU…
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