A novel inspection robot for nuclear station steam generator secondary side with self-localization

Li, Jie; Wang, Xinyu; Xu, Tiantian; Guo, Heng; Sun, Jianquan; Gao, Qingshi

doi:10.1186/s40638-017-0078-y

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…pipes, aeroengines) due to their large size, limited mobility, and low dexterity [3][4]. Given the growing need for inspection and repair operations in high-value infrastructures such as aerospace combustors [5][6] and power plant turbines [7][8], specialist robotic systems with multiple DoFs and reduced dimensions are in high demand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and modelling of a continuum robot with soft stiffness-adjustable elements for confined environments

Ma¹

2022

Preprint

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<p><i>Abstract</i>—Continuum robots are increasingly used in a wide range of industrial applications due to their slender body and high redundancy, making them ideal for intervention in confined environments. However, most of the existing continuum robots operate with their backbone in a cantilever configuration, resulting in a limited accuracy at the tip because of their low stiffness. This paper proposes a new method to improve the stiffness of continuum robots, characterized by: (1) a modular section with adjustable stiffness (MSAS), able to inflate its diameter by ten times to provide physical support for a 6-DoF operating section; (2) a novel stiffness model developed to study the behaviour of the hybrid stiffening continuum arm; (3) a manual insertion method for an easy delivery with a limited number of actuators. The proposed stiffness model, which combines the stiffness characteristics of the MSAS and a 6-DoF continuum arm, predicts the performance of the novel hybrid continuum robot with an average deviation of 9.2% under external loads. A prototype has been demonstrated on a case study in a Trent 900 aeroengine, where the MSAS, with a natural diameter of 12.6 mm, is delivered through an inspection hole of 13 mm and then inflated (120 mm) to successfully lock the robot within the combustor (width: 200 mm; height: 110 mm). The physical support enables accurate operation with the 6-DoF continuum arm at the tip, indicating that the proposed design can improve the performance of conventional continuum robots. </p>

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and modelling of a continuum robot with soft stiffness-adjustable elements for confined environments

Ma¹

2022

Preprint

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“…Recent advancements have made robots and autonomous systems a valuable asset in unsafe environments as a way to keep humans out of danger, such as in the nuclear or energy domains [6,7,10,13,17,20]. These domains often require navigating highly dynamic scenarios and executing time-critical actions successfully.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Explainable Robots in Remote Environments

Garcia

Smith

Lopes

et al. 2021

Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

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As robots and autonomous systems become more adept at handling complex scenarios, their underlying mechanisms also become increasingly complex and opaque. This lack of transparency can give rise to unverifiable behaviours, limiting the use of robots in a number of applications including high-stakes scenarios, e.g. self-driving cars or first responders. In this paper and accompanying video, we present a system that learns from demonstrations to inspect areas in a remote environment and to explain robot behaviour. Using semi-supervised learning, the robot is able to inspect an offshore platform autonomously, whilst explaining its decision process both through both image-based and natural language-based interfaces.

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“…Focusing on nuclear environment, wall climbing robots have been popular for inspecting undamaged steam generators at nuclear sites [7]. The authors in [8] provide an overview of aerial robots for radiation mapping, while [9] develops a drone equipped with sensors for nuclear risk characterization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear Environments Inspection with Micro Aerial Vehicles: Algorithms and Experiments

Thakur

Loianno

Liu

et al. 2020

Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics

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In this work, we address the estimation, planning, control and mapping problems to allow a small quadrotor to autonomously inspect the interior of hazardous damaged nuclear sites. These algorithms run onboard on a computationally limited CPU. We investigate the effect of varying illumination on the system performance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fully autonomous system of this size and scale applied to inspect the interior of a full scale mock-up of a Primary Containment Vessel (PCV). The proposed solution opens up new ways to inspect nuclear reactors and to support nuclear decommissioning, which is well known to be a dangerous, long and tedious process. Experimental results with varying illumination conditions show the ability to navigate a full scale mock-up PCV pedestal and create a map of the environment, while concurrently avoiding obstacles.

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A novel inspection robot for nuclear station steam generator secondary side with self-localization

Cited by 13 publications

References 16 publications

Design and modelling of a continuum robot with soft stiffness-adjustable elements for confined environments

Design and modelling of a continuum robot with soft stiffness-adjustable elements for confined environments

Self-Explainable Robots in Remote Environments

Nuclear Environments Inspection with Micro Aerial Vehicles: Algorithms and Experiments

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