Design and Modeling of Pipeline Inspection Robot (PIR) for Underground Pipelines

Abstract

The rapid growth of in-pipe inspection robots has been demanding in the society which is widely used in oil and gas industry, power plant industry, and sewage system, etc. This kind of robot can be applicable for inspecting the internal surfaces of underground pipelines like defects, cracks, and internal erosion. To cater this need, the main focus of this paper is to design and develop a pipeline inspection robot (PIR). For this purpose, a novel design of PIR is proposed using scissor mechanism which consists of two cross-links, and the motion of scissor is adjusted by controlling the lead screw in the mechanism. This is controlled through DC motors. The mathematical model for understanding the kinematics and dynamics of the scissor mechanism has been developed. Further, kinematic and dynamic simulation has been carried out. By results, it is proven that the scissor mechanism helps it to automatic adjustment of the height of the robot in the internal pipelines of robot for varying cross-sectional diameters. The robot can cover a large diameter range (500-1000 mm) of pipelines. This robot may solve the problems of inspection of the underground pipelines. This robot can be minimized the problems of the human factor in laborintensive or hazardous work and can also act in unreachable environments during repair and maintenance inside the underground pipelines in various industries and day-to-day life.