Basic characteristics of a novel in-pipe helical drive robot
by Ren Tao; Liu Qingyou; Li Yujia; Chen Yonghua
International Journal of Mechatronics and Automation (IJMA), Vol. 4, No. 2, 2014

Abstract: In recent years, long-distance pipeline grids are widely used in transporting the exploited and processed water, oil and gas resources. In order to deal with the frequent inspection and maintenance in pipelines, a new concept of novel in-pipe helical drive robot is proposed to adapt a diversity of pipe size and materials. And then, we design two prototypes, one with independent passive wheels and another with pulleys synchronised by a timing belt. The obstacle negotiating capability and the tractive force of two kinds of helical drive in-pipe robot has been analysed as well. We carry out the experiments of overcoming an obstacle and measuring the tractive force in a transparent plexiglass pipe. The experimental results showed that the obstacle negotiating capability of the belt type robot is better than the wheel type robot. Furthermore, the belt robot can get more stable performance and bigger tractive force than the wheel robot, which will play an important role in pipelines' inspection field.

Online publication date: Tue, 17-Jun-2014

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