An articulated multi-vehicle robot for inspection and testing of pipeline interiors

Abstract

The authors describe the construction of an articulated multi-vehicle robot for inspection and testing of pipeline interiors. The robot is capable of traveling inside pipes of radius 520-800 mm diameter over a distance 150 m. Output pressure versus extension characteristics of the two-stage air cylinder, reduction of the wave reflection in a wheel-type ultrasonic probe, an umbilical cable assembly housing optical fibers, air tubes and electric cables are key elements of the robot. The articulated robot was tested in the laboratory to evaluate and the scanning performance. The results of the non-destructive test of a weld bead to the longitudinal direction show that the robot can pick up surrounding color images and transmit them to the ground station's monitor with high precision.