Sensing pipes of a nuclear power mechanism using low-cost snake robot

Chiung-Wei Huang,Cheng-Yuan Chang,Yu-Hsiang Hung,Chung-Hao Huang

doi:10.1177/1687814018781286

Abstract

Snake robots have come to represent a new subfield of bionic robot research in recent years. A snake robot comprises many modules and performs various movements in arranged connections. The structure of a snake body enables it to move smoothly in narrow spaces or pipes with high stability and reliability. This article studies the application of a snake robot on a large-scale nuclear power facility to sense in pipe components. Therefore, a snake robot must move in pipes in which high radiation is present to explore the surrounding environment and take samples. A simple but effective method of locomotion is developed and executed to confirm feasibility of motion, especially in narrow space. A sampling mechanism with a storage box is designed at the tail of the snake to take and keep the samples well at designated locations. We built a pipe system which has two right-angled turns to simulate the pipes of a large-scale nuclear power facility. A user interface helps operators to manipulate the snake robot.

Highlights

In recent years, some nuclear power plants in Taiwan are planned to decommission
The motion in pipes for a snake robot is studied in this article
When the snake robot is outside the pipe system, the charge-coupled device (CCD) at the head module helps to locate the entrance of the pipe system and the smart motor controller drives the snake robot to enter the pipes

Summary

Introduction

Some nuclear power plants in Taiwan are planned to decommission. the management, maintenance, and repair of internal pipelines of nuclear energy components of the nuclear power plant is very difficult, because the pipelines are disposed densely and have various structures, and it is unable to enter the pipelines for check, because the check operation must build construction frames and deconstruct the adiabator first. The motion in pipes (especially in narrow space and at a right-angled turn) for a snake robot is studied in this article.

Results

Conclusion