Actively steerable in-pipe inspection robots for underground urban gas pipelines

Abstract

In this paper we introduce robots called MRINSPECT (Multifunctional Robotic crawler for INpipe inSPEC Tion) III and IV which are under development for the inspection of urban gas pipelines. The proposed robots can freely move along the basic configuration of pipelines such CLi; horizontal or' vertical pipelines. MO'reover' it can travel along reducers, elbows, and steer in the branches by using steering mechanisms. Espe cially, their three dimensional steering capability pro vides outstanding mobility in navigation that is a pre requisite characteristic in urban gas pipelines. Their critical points in the design and construction are in troduced with preliminary results of experiments.

Development of In-pipe Inspection Robot

“…Fig. 8 Driving module [16] To provide the sufficient tracting forces and flexibility in navigation, a body frame designed which is illustrated in figure 9. At the end of the legs on the body frame three driving modules are fixed 120 0 apart circumferentially.…”

“…Fig. 9 Link mechanism [16] Two wheels of the driving module move independently along the radial direction due to constraints of links and interaction between elastic force at the main spring of the body frame and the reaction forces of the wall. Distance between the main shaft of the robot and the wheel changes according to the link construction, and it makes the wheel have effective contact with the wall inside the pipelines whatever diameters changes.…”

In-pipe Robot with Active Steering Capability for Moving Inside of Pipelines

“…544, I-Tech, Vienna, Austria, EU, September 2007 2002; Suzumori et al, 1998;Kawaguchi et al, 1995;Suzumori, et al, 1999;Tsubouchi et al, 2000;Scholl et al, 2000;Mhramatsu et al, 2000;Ong et al, 2001;Choi & Ryew, 2002;Ryew et al, 2000;Roh et al, 2001;Roh et al, 2002;Roh et al, 2005;Schempf & Vradis, 2005;Schempf, 2002;Gamble & Wiesman, 1996). Fig.…”

“…In this chapter, we present a comprehensive work for moving inside pipelines with the inpipe robot, called the Multifunctional Robot for IN-pipe inspection (MRINSPECT) series, as shown in Fig. 3 (Choi & Ryew, 2002;Ryew et al, 2000;Roh et al, 2001;Roh et al, 2002;Roh et al, 2005). They have been developed for the inspection of urban gas pipelines with a nominal 8-in and 4-in inside diameter, respectively.…”

Autonomous robotic monitoring of underground cable systems

“…Pipe crawling inspection robots are commonly used for leakage inspection of oil and gas pipes [10][11][12]. Pipe crawler applications also include rescue and explosive detection [13].…”