Design and research on dual adaptive pipeline robots for round and square pipes

Abstract

ObjectiveTo improve the adaptive bending ability of crawler-type pipeline robots in different sizes of pipelines, a pipeline inspection robot that can adapt to both square and circular pipes has been designed and manufactured.MethodsThis study mainly focused on analyzing the geometric constraints and motion states of the dual-adapter detection robot for circular and square pipes when bending inside the pipeline, in order to verify the rationality of the pipeline robot design. The finite element analysis of the robot structure was carried out using Ansys software, and the passability and motion parameters of the robot inside the pipeline were analyzed using Adams software to prove its adaptability.ResultsTest results show that the designed dual-adapter robot for circular and square pipes has a reasonable structure and can successfully pass through bends. This study provides a basis for the structural design of pipeline robots.

Keywords

• Round-square tube dual-adaptive inspection robot
• Geometric constraint
• Finite element analysis
• Motion parameter