A Distance-Field-Based Pipe-Routing Method

Abstract

Pipes are commonly used to transport fuels, air, water, gas, hydraulic power, and other fluid-like materials in engine rooms, houses, factories, airplanes, and ships. Thus, pipe routing is essential in many industrial applications, including ship construction, machinery manufacturing, house building, laying out engine rooms, etc. To be functional, a pipe system should be economical while satisfying spatial constraints and safety regulations. Numerous routing algorithms have been published to optimize the pipe length and the number of elbows. However, relatively few methods have been designed to lay out pipes which strictly meet the spatial constraints and safety regulations. This article proposes a distance-field-based piping algorithm to remedy this problem. The proposed method converts the workspace into a 3D image and computes a distance field upon the workspace first. It then creates a feasible space out of the workspace by peeling the distance field and segmenting the 3D image. The resultant feasible space is collision-free and satisfies the spatial constraints and safety regulations. In the following step, a path-finding process, subjected to a cost function, is triggered to arrange the pipe inside the feasible space. Consequently, the cost of the pipe is optimized, and the pipe path rigidly meets the spatial constraints and safety regulations. The proposed method works effectively even if the workspace is narrow and complicated. In three experiments, the proposed method is employed to lay out pipes inside an underwater vehicle, a machinery room, and a two-story house, respectively. Not only do the resultant pipes possess minimal costs, but they also meet the spatial constraints and safety regulations, as predicted. In addition to developing the routing procedure, we also design a visualization subsystem to reveal the progression of the piping process and the variation of the workspace in the run time. Based on the displayed images, users can therefore evaluate the quality of the pipes on the fly and tune the piping parameters if necessary.

Concealed Conduit Routing in Building Slabs

“…Besides being economical, a pipe must also meet safety regulations such that potential hazards are avoided, and the operational and maintenance costs can be minimized. Ueng et al proposed creating a distance field in the workspace to eliminate infeasible space before routing pipes [4]. Consequently, the resultant pipes possess minimum lengths and meet all safety regulations.…”

“…This principle suggests that long and thick pipes should be routed first such that the utilization of the workspace will be higher, and the quality of the final pipe paths could be better. This principle was widely used in pipe-routing computations and has been proven to be effective [3][4][5][6]. Nonetheless, it is logically contradictory for this research since the actual lengths of the concealed pipes are unknown before the routing process starts.…”

“…Many efficient algorithms have been proposed for routing them since the 1970s [1,2]. Since pipes are utilized in various applications [3][4][5][6], the paradigms, domain representation methods, and limitations of these published algorithms are different. However, they share a common aspect: The target pipes are exposed conduits.…”

“…The complexity and costs of a pipe-routing process are significantly influenced by the characteristics of the workspace [1]. Exposed pipes are laid in open spaces or on the surfaces of machinery [2][3][4][5]. Their workspaces are extensible and more flexible.…”

Program Design for Ship Piping Network Visualization Model Based on WPF and C#

“…Ship pipeline networks are defined as the internal piping systems within ships that are used for the transportation of various substances, including liquids, gases, and more. These networks comprise different components such as pipelines, valves, pumps, and other elements, which are essential for enabling functions like water supply, drainage, fuel transportation, cooling, and more within the ship [1][2][3].…”