Cableless In-piping Magnetic Actuator for Transportation over Long-range

Abstract

This paper proposes a cableless In-piping magnetic actuator capable of locomotion over long range of 1,000 m within a pipe having an inner diameter of 10 mm. The cableless magnetic actuator is moved by using resonance energy of a mass-spring system excited by using an electromagnetic force. The proposed actuator incorporates a new type of an electrical inverter that directly transforms DC from button batteries into AC. The electrical DC-AC inverter incorporates a mass-spring system, two reed switches and two curved permanent magnets that switch under an electromagnetic force. The conventional DC-AC inverter and the newly proposed inverter were compared, and the effect of the inverter on the motive properties of the cableless magnetic actuator was examined. The influence of the consumption current of the battery on the range of the actuator was examined. Experimental result demonstrates that the cableless magnetic actuator was able to move horizontally at 1,588 m, and horizontal speed at 176.5 mm/s when two reed switches were used.