Speed Simulation of Hydraulic Automatic Speed-Controlled Pipeline Inspection Gauge in Liquid Pipelines

Abstract

Abstract A pipeline inspection gauge (PIG) is an effective device for pipeline cleaning and inspection. Furthermore, a speed-controlled PIG can adjust speed by controlling the bypass valve. The conventional-speed controlled PIG uses batteries as an energy source to adjust the bypass valve. Battery power and other electronic equipment will limit running distance and cause a potential security risk. In this paper, a PIG with a hydraulic automatic control system is presented. The kinematic model of the PIG in the liquid pipeline is obtained by studying the hydraulic automatic control system and PIG movement mechanism with a bypass valve. A numerical method was used to solve the PIG's kinematic model. Through parameter sensitivity analysis, the influence law of each parameter on the entire system is obtained. The case study was conducted by a numerical method, which confirmed that the hydraulic automatically controlled PIG has speed control ability. Compared with a PIG without the speed control system, the hydraulic automatic speed-controlled PIG has better motion performance in the fluctuating pipeline.