Development of the untethered in-pipe inspection robot for natural gas pipelines

Park, Sung Chul; Moon, Jeong Whan; Kim, Hyoungkwon; Jang, Seong Cheol; Kim, Dae Gyeong; Ahn, Kitak; Ryew, Sungmoo; Moon, Hyungpil; Choi, Hyouk Ryeol

doi:10.1109/urai.2013.6677470

Cited by 20 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Many of these robots are powered and actuated via tethered electrical cables (1,(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42) or fluid tubes (15,(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48), limiting their usage for long-distance pipeline inspection and rendering them unsuitable for pipelines transporting fluids such as oil and gas. A small number of in-pipe robots incorporate onboard batteries (49)(50)(51)(52) for autonomous navigation, but their operational range is constrained by battery capacity, necessitating frequent recharging. Furthermore, battery-powered in-pipe robots presently remain constrained above a specific centimeter-scale threshold and exhibit limitations in further downsizing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wireless flow-powered miniature robot capable of traversing tubular structures

Hong,

Wu,

Wang

et al. 2024

Sci. Robot.

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Wireless millimeter-scale robots capable of navigating through fluid-flowing tubular structures hold substantial potential for inspection, maintenance, or repair use in nuclear, industrial, and medical applications. However, prevalent reliance on external powering constrains these robots’ operational range and applicable environments. Alternatives with onboard powering must trade off size, functionality, and operation duration. Here, we propose a wireless millimeter-scale wheeled robot capable of using environmental flows to power and actuate its long-distance locomotion through complex pipelines. The flow-powering module can convert flow energy into mechanical energy, achieving an impeller speed of up to 9595 revolutions per minute, accompanied by an output power density of 11.7 watts per cubic meter and an efficiency of 33.7%. A miniature gearbox module can further transmit the converted mechanical energy into the robot’s locomotion system, allowing the robot to move against water flow at an average rate of up to 1.05 meters per second. The robot’s motion status (moving against/with flow or pausing) can be switched using an external magnetic field or an onboard mechanical regulator, contingent on different proposed control designs. In addition, we designed kirigami-based soft wheels for adaptive locomotion. The robot can move against flows of various substances within pipes featuring complex geometries and diverse materials. Solely powered by flow, the robot can transport cylindrical payloads with a diameter of up to 55% of the pipe’s diameter and carry devices such as an endoscopic camera for pipeline inspection, a wireless temperature sensor for environmental temperature monitoring, and a leak-stopper shell for infrastructure maintenance.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wireless flow-powered miniature robot capable of traversing tubular structures

Hong,

Wu,

Wang

et al. 2024

Sci. Robot.

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“…The deterioration of pipelines outside the buried environment is predominantly detected using magnetic flux leakage (MFL) [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Robot-assisted inspection is emerging as a viable alternative, offering operational cost savings and reducing the risk of human casualties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an In-Pipe Inspection Robot for Large-Diameter Water Pipes

Jeon,

Jung,

Bae

et al. 2024

Sensors

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This paper describes the development of an in-pipe inspection robot system designed for large-diameter water pipes. The robot is equipped with a Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) sensor module. The robot system is intended for pipes with diameters ranging from 900 mm to 1200 mm. The structure of the in-pipe inspection robot consists of the front and rear driving parts, with the inspection module located centrally. The robot is powered by 22 motors, including eight wheels with motors positioned at both the bottom and the top for propulsion. To ensure that the robot’s center aligns with that of the pipeline during operation, lifting units have been incorporated. The robot is equipped with cameras and LiDAR sensors at the front and rear to monitor the internal environment of the pipeline. Pipeline inspection is conducted using the MFL inspection modules, and the robot’s driving mechanism is designed to execute spiral maneuvers while maintaining contact with the pipeline surface during rotation. The in-pipe inspection robot is configured with wireless communication modules and batteries, allowing for wireless operation. Following its development, the inspection robot underwent driving experiments in actual pipelines to validate its performance. The field test bed used for these experiments is approximately 1 km in length. Results from the driving experiments on the field test bed confirmed the robot’s ability to navigate various curvatures and obstacles within the pipeline. It is posited that the use of the developed in-pipe inspection robot can reduce economic costs and enhance the safety of inspectors when examining aging pipes.

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“…These robots are designed as per the specific requirement. Ryew et al [5] have presented a robot system using an articulated structure like a snake. This is controlled through a tether cable for in-pipe inspection of underground urban gas pipelines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Jain

Das

Mukherjee

et al. 2021

Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering

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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.

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Development of the untethered in-pipe inspection robot for natural gas pipelines

Cited by 20 publications

References 2 publications

Wireless flow-powered miniature robot capable of traversing tubular structures

Wireless flow-powered miniature robot capable of traversing tubular structures

Development of an In-Pipe Inspection Robot for Large-Diameter Water Pipes

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

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