Multi-Objective Design Optimization of the Leg Mechanism for a Piping Inspection Robot

Furet

Volume 5A: 43rd Mechanisms and Robotics Conference

et al. 2019

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Piping inspection robots are of greater interests in industries such as nuclear, chemical and sewage. The design of such robots is highly challenging owing to factors such as locomotion inside pipes with varying diameters, cable management, and complex pipe bends (or) junctions. A rigid bio-inspired caterpillar type piping inspection robot was developed at LS2N, France. By introducing tensegrity mechanisms and four-bar wheel mechanisms, the design of this robot is modified into a reconfigurable system. The tensegrity mechanism employs a passive universal joint with three tension springs and three cables for actuation. The positioning of the end effector with respect to the base of the mechanism plays an important role in determining the maximum tilt angle (or) bending limit of the system. By workspace analysis of three case studies, the best solution is chosen which generates the maximum tilt. A static force analysis is then performed on the mechanism to determine its stability under the influences of preload. By the modification of design parameters, stable configurations are determined followed by which cable actuation of mechanism is analyzed for estimating applied forces.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Architecture Of the Robotmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Design and Analysis of a Tensegrity Mechanism for a Bio-Inspired Robot

Furet

Volume 5A: 43rd Mechanisms and Robotics Conference

et al. 2019

Self Cite

“…Recently, Henry et al and Chablat et al [7][8][9] have proposed a bio-inspired piping inspection robot that is capable of inspecting pipelines between diameter range of 40-94 mm. The schema of the robot proposed in [7] is represented in Fig.…”

Section: Design Factors and Constraints For Developing A New Architecmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new inspection robot for pipelines with bends and junctions

Advances in Mechanism and Machine Science

2019

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The application of robots for the inspection of pipelines are of greater significance in industries such as nuclear, chemical and sewage. The major problem in the design of these robots lies in the selection of a suitable locomotion principle, selection of an articulation unit that facilitates the robot to pass through pipe bends and management of cables. In this context, the design of a new bio-inspired piping inspection robot that resembles an elephant trunk has been presented. With the help of leg mechanisms and actuators, a caterpillar locomotion is used within this trunk for establishing adaptive contact points with the walls of pipeline. For the passage through bends and junctions, several case studies of existing researches have been taken into account for the design of an articulation unit. Two solutions, (i) a passive tensegrity structure and (ii) an active tensegrity structure have been proposed for the robot to pass through pipe bends and junctions. A detailed design analysis of the passive solution that uses a universal joint has been presented in this article.

“…A distinction between the two categories was proposed by Kassim et al [1]. A bio-inspired mechanical system that mimics the motion of a caterpillar has been presented by Henry 1 et al [2]. The robot has two leg mechanisms for contact points with the walls of a pipe and a central system for elongation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Model of a Bio-Inspired Robot for Piping Inspection

ROMANSY 22 – Robot Design, Dynamics and Control

Boyer

2018

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Piping inspection robots are of great importance in industries such as nuclear, sewage and chemical where the internal diameters of the pipeline are significantly smaller. Mechanisms having closed loops can be used in such areas as they generate contact forces and deployable structures. With the help of a bio-inspired mechanism, a piping inspection robot is presented which mimics the motion of a caterpillar. The robot is composed of three modules: a central module for elongation and two other modules on the front and rear for clamping. A slot-slider mechanism is chosen for the legs of the robot. Using industrial components such as DC motors, servo-controllers, ball screws and fasteners, the entire robotic system was realized in CATIA software and a prototype was made at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Numérique de Nantes (LS2N). In this article, we present the forces induced on the motors under locomotion using a dynamic analysis. With the help of the recursive Newton-Euler algorithm, the torques generated on the motor under locomotion have been identified which ensures the stability of the system while moving inside pipes.