International Journal on Mechanical Engineering and Robotics (IJMER)

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Investigation of Design & Fabrication of In-Pipe Inspection Robot

1
Jaspreet singh, 2Tajinder Singh, 3Manpreet Singh
1,2,3
Department of Mechanical Engg., DAV Institute of Engg. and Technology Jalandhar
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
1

Abstract : This paper proposes an in pipe inspection robot

 It can move in horizontal, vertical as well as curved
with the wall-pressing force adjustment using DC motor. It pipe geometries.
is developed for long distance inspection in sea-water  The robot can adapt to changing diameters and to
pipelines such as horizontal pipelines and slope pipelines small obstacles on the inner surface of the tube.
with large variable diameters from 600mm to 800mm. Its  The robot can easily be protected against humid
mechanical design consists of two modules as driving and dirty environments.
module and control module. The driving module has three  It can be used for weld inspection, fault detection,
pantograph type links spaced in 120° with three caterpillar
track wheels. This design makes it possible to realize the
cleaning and repairing of internal pipe surfaces,
adaptation to pipe diameter and the adjustment of wall- etc.
pressing force. The control module consists of a micro
controller, motor driver and sensor interface. To control
the in pipe inspection robot, firstly, the in pipe inspection
robot is considered as a dynamic model of mass-spring-
damper system. Secondly, an observer is designed to
estimate the unknown wall-pressing force to sustain the
robot in pipeline. Thirdly, an algorithm of wall-pressing
force generator is presented to find out an appropriate
reference value of wall-pressing force. Finally, the driving
tests results of the developed in pipe inspection robot are
shown to prove the effectiveness of the proposed controller
and the applicability of the developed in pipe inspection
robot. Fig.1 pipe inspection robot
Keywords: wall-press robot, in-pipe inspection. II. OBJECTIVE
I. INTRODUCTION 1. This project is made to inspect the underground
horizontal gas pipe line. This project is very useful
An important application for robotic systems is the area
for inspection team to inspect the leakage,
of pipe inspection in the oil, chemical and nuclear
blockage, or any other destruction
industry, and the public water systems see in fig no (1).
In this context and on the basis of its experience in 2. This project reduces labor cost and accidental
mobile robots the, a new concept of wheeled robot for cases. Inspect the damage portion and easily we
in-pipe inspection. The inspection of pipes may be recover from it by finding proper area where it is
relevant for improving security and efficiency in damage.
industrial plants. These specific operations as inspection,
maintenance, cleaning etc. are expensive, thus the 3. To reduces human efforts, wastage of money
application of the robots appears to be one of the most material handling cost. Easy to operate and find the
attractive solutions. The pipelines are the major tools for cracks and defect.
the transportation of drinkable water, effluent water, fuel III. SELECTION OF MATERIAL
oils and gas. A lot of troubles caused by piping networks
aging, corrosion, cracks, and mechanical damages are The materials used for this machine are light and rigid.
possible. Different materials can be used for different parts of the
robot. For optimum use of power the materials used
The robot has a number of advantages: should be light and strong. Wood is light but it is
 The vehicle has a very simple kinematics and uses subjected to wear if used for this machine. Metals are
a single motor. the ideal materials for the robot as most if the plastics
 Low energy consumption, thanks to the simple cannot be as strong as metals. Material should be
kinematics. ductile, less brittleness, malleable, and high magnetic
susceptibility.
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Among the metals, aluminum is the material chosen for 3. Compression Spring: A spring is an elastic
the linkages and the common rod, which is made as object used to store mechanical Energy. Spring used
hollow for reduction in weight. However, other here is made out of hardened steel. Compression spring
materials are chosen for the motor. The materials chosen is mainly used to exert tension. The purpose of spring is
for the motor should have high magnetic susceptibility as follows.
and should be good conductor of electricity. The
materials are copper and so on. But aluminum is chosen  The force that the mini robot mechanism exercises
as the materials for the linkages and central body on the pipe walls is generated with the help of an
because of its much-desired properties. Aluminum has extensible spring.
lightweight and strength; it can be used in a variety of  The helical spring disposed on the central axis
applications. Aluminum alloys with a wide range of assures the repositioning of the structure, in the
properties are used in engineering structures. The case of the pipe diameters variation.
strength and durability of aluminum alloys vary widely,
not only because of the components of the specific alloy,
but also because of heat treatments and manufacturing
processes.
IV. COMPONENTS OF PIPE INSPECTION
ROBOT
1. Central Frame: Central body is the frame of the
robot. It supports all other components and holds
batteries at the Centre of the body. The joints are brazed
on the central frame at 120 degrees. The central body is
drilled and its ends are threaded internally for the
Fig.4 compression spring
insertion of pencil batteries and closing with externally
threaded caps. Wireless camera is fixed at one end of the 4. Links: Each resistant body in a machine which
frame. moves relative to another resistant body is called
Kinematic link or element. A resistant body is which do
not go under deformation. While transmitting the force.
Links are the major part of the robot which translates
motion. Links are connected to form a linkage. The
mechanism involved here is a 4 bar mechanism which
has 3 revolute pairs and 1 single prismatic pairs as
depicted. Links holds the receiver, switch, and 9v
battery for the camera.

Fig.2 Central Frame

2. Translational Element: Translational Element is
the movable part in the robot which slides along the
central body for repositioning in case of pipe diameter
variation. This element is drilled at the Centre for the
translating along the central body. This will restrict the
links to some extreme angles beyond which it could not
be translated. The extreme angles are found to be 15
degrees and 60 degrees. The joints are brazed on the
translational element at 120 degrees for the links to be Fig.5 Links
fixed onto it.
5. Actuators: An Actuator is a type of motor for
moving or controlling a mechanism or system. An
actuator is the mechanism by which a control system
acts upon an environment. The control system can be
simple (a fixed mechanical or electronic system),
software-based (e.g. a printer driver, robot control
system), or a human or other agent. Actuators are the
drive for the robot. Since we have chosen aluminum
material for fabrication, the weight is comparatively
less. So the motor should have 2 kg torque to travel
inside the pipe. We used 3 motors which has 1 kg torque
Fig.3 Translation Element to make the robot in motion. The supply for the motor is
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6v which is from the central body. The 3 motors are  LINEAR MOTION
placed at 120 degrees and are supported on the links by
 ROTORY MOTION
a tag.
For obtaining both motions at a same time, position of
6. Batteries: Batteries give supply for a motor
wheels attached with the robot plays an important role.
and wireless camera. Motor and radio frequency gets 6v
Therefore, wheels are attached with links at some angle
supply from the central body and wireless camera gets
along the circumference of the body of a robot. The
supply from a 9v battery. And 3v batteries for
wheels are attached at an angle of 120 degree for
transmitter which has two toggle switch. One is for
obtaining boot linear and rotary motion at the same time.
motor forward and reverse control and the other one is
for glowing LED’s. By this, due to both motions, wireless camera attached
with a robot displays a clear and proper image inside the
pipe which is to be inspected and image is displayed on
a screen.
VI. ASSEMBLY OF COMPONENTS
There are different components of pipe inspection robot
which are already discussed. These components should
be assembled in such a way that robot can work properly
and have flexibility so that it may be adjusted according
to different diameters of pipes which means that the size
of robot can be changed according to the the size of
pipes to be inspected.
Fig.6 Batteries
Wireless Camera: Wireless communication is the
transfer of information over a distance without the use of
electrical conductors or “wires”. The distances involved
may be short or long Wireless cameras have a channel
also. The receiver has channels to tune in and then you
get the picture. The wireless camera picture is sent by
the transmitter the receiver collects this signal and
outputs it to your TV or in a desktop by a TV tuner card.
Camera transmits signal to the receiver which receives
the signal and is connected to the monitor to view the
inner side of the pipe.

Fig.8 Assembly of Components

In robot assembly, a sleeve is fitted on the outer
circumference of a body. A sleeve can slide
longitudinally on the body of a robot. At the one end of
body, a stopper is provided whose
Function is to stop a spring which is present between
stopper and sleeve. While adjusting a size of robot, this
spring plays an important role and helps in the
adjustment of sleeve with which links are attached by it
compression and expansion and then wheels are attached
to the links and whole size of robot is changed and by
this it can inspect pipes of various sizes. At the front of a
Fig.7 Wireless Camera
robot, a wireless camera is attached to it with the help of
V. REQUIRED MOTIONS IN A ROBOT which images of inside view of pipes are displayed on a
screen and all the defects in pipes are displayed and by
As it is already cleared from its name that the robot is this inspection of pipes is done.
used to inspect pipes so the name that is pipe inspection
robot is given to it. For the proper inspection of pipes, VII. PIPE INSPECTION ROBOT TEST
the motions and movements of the robot while
Following the design and modeling of the proposed
inspection in pipes plays an important role. For proper
mechanism a prototype unit was built. The body of the
inspection, robot is provided with two motions that are –
robot was fabricated mostly from aluminum. The Robot

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