Design and analysis of a pneumatic high-impact force drive mechanism for in-pipe inspection robots. (1st October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hua, Ye; Konyo, Masashi; Tadokoro, Satoshi
• Is Part Of: Advanced robotics. Volume 30:Number 19(2016)
• Page Start: 1260
• Page End: 1272
• Publication Date: 2016-10-01
• Subjects: In-pipe inspection -- pneumatic actuator -- catastrophic structure -- anisotropic friction mechanism; Robotics -- Periodicals; Robotics -- Japan -- Periodicals; Robotics; Japan; Periodicals; 629.89205
• DOI: 10.1080/01691864.2016.1205511
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0169-1864

Abstract

Graphical Abstract: Abstract : A pneumatic actuator is suitable and safe for in-pipe inspection robots in inflammable circumstances because of its ability to withstand explosions. However, ordinary pneumatic actuators limit driving speed because of their slow response. In this paper, we propose a novel pneumatic drive mechanism that can produce a high-impact force to move the in-pipe robot forward with sufficient speed by a catastrophic phenomenon using rapid release between a magnet and springs. We also introduce an anisotropic friction mechanism that uses a self-locking phenomenon to transmit the impact force to the pipe walls efficiently. A pin retraction mechanism that releases the self-locking condition is applied to retrieve the robot from the pipes. Optimizations of the proposed design were conducted based on a motion simulation model and verified in experiments. The experimental results obtained for maximum driving speeds in a straight pipe with different material types were approximately 90 and 50 mm/s for horizontal and vertical pipes, respectively. Stable strokes were also observed at different driving frequencies from 0.5 to 2.0 Hz.