Design, Modeling, and Simulation of a Wheeled, Wall-Pressed, In-Pipe Inspection Robot for Pipes with 6-8 inches Inside Diameter

Abstract

In-pipe inspection robots are used to inspect the physical pipe conditions to reduce the likelihood of pipe failure because it can fit or be smaller than the pipe's size for it to inspect the pipe's interior. In this study, an improved design of an in-pipe inspection robot that can climb vertical pipes will be evaluated to determine if the designed chassis is acceptable through stress simulation and to analyze if the design has stable motion when traversing horizontal and vertical pipes. Before simulating the improved robot design in Adams, a simulation model will be made based on a fabricated in-pipe inspection robot to validate if Adams is a valid method for creating virtual prototypes. In the stress simulation, the results show that the design is acceptable as it did not have any deformation from the forces imposed on it during compression. The results of the simulation model based on the past study are shown to be almost similar to the actual results with less than 1% error that proves using Adams is valid for creating a virtual prototype. After evaluating the improved design by analyzing the mechanical behavior simulation model inside horizontal and vertical pipes with 6-8 inches inside diameter as well as comparing the displacement, velocity, spring force, and torque based on changes in pipe size and orientation, the design has shown to have stable motion and can climb vertical pipes without much issue.