A NOVEL PIPE-CLIMBING FLEXIBLE ROBOT FOR PIPE INSPECTIONS

Abstract

For robots, crawling through curved or redirected pipe sections with different pipe diameters to inspect and survey pipes is quite a difficult task. To solve this problem, in this article we propose a new pipe inspection robot model that is a combination of rigid mechanical structures with a soft body to ensure the robot moves smoothly and is flexible. The mechanical design model of the robot includes the front radial actuator, the central axial actuator, and the rear radial actuator. In order to assist the robot in adhering tightly to the pipe wall and producing a fulcrum for stable movement, the front and rear actuators are made of a rigid mechanical framework that can expand radially. The central axial actuator is the soft body that can flow through curved pipes and expand rapidly in the axial direction when filled with air to aid in the robot’s forward motion. The robot’s flexibility in movement is made clear by kinematic models of mechanical structures and deformation simulations of soft bodies. Preliminary calculations and simulation results show that this new robot design has the potential to move flexibly and efficiently in pipes with variable diameters and diverse configurations.