Design Analysis of Novel Scissor Mechanism for Pipeline Inspection Robot (PIR)

Abstract

The rapid development of present society accelerates the evolution of pipe transport systems such as drinkable water, gas, petrol, sewage, etc. which is an essential part of our daily life. This trend has created many underground pipelines networks. Maintaining them is expensive due to their underground placement. Maintenance of these underground pipelines has led to the beginning of the research in finding alternative solutions for pipe inspection. An attractive solution to this problem is represented by mobile robots adaptable to the work environment inside pipes. These robots can inspect pipes with a minimum of effort and resources. To cater to this need, a novel design of pipeline inspection robot (PIR) based on the scissor mechanism is hereby proposed, for the inspection of the underground large diameter pipelines. Further, an analysis of the scissor mechanism proposed for the present robot is carried out. The major advantage of this mechanism is that it can cover large diameter ranges (500-1000 mm) of the pipelines. This robot may solve the problems of inspection of the underground pipelines. This robot can overcome the issues of the human factor in labor-intensive or dangerous work and can also act in inaccessible environments during repair and maintenance inside the underground pipelines in various industry and day-to-day life.