Traditional pipe inspection equipment has many practical difficulties when facing vertical, tiny, and complex pipelines, such as poor trafficability, weak stability, and small traction force. For this reason, researchers from all over the world have developed and designed many improved special pipe inspection equipment in terms of mechanical structure, walking mode, driving capacity, etc. according to the performance characteristics of different types of pipe inspection equipment. Among them, the pipeline inspection robot is a hot issue studied by many scientists, and different types of pipeline inspection robots have also been widely used.
At present, the pipeline inspection robot is in the initial stage of development. The applicable variation range of its pipeline diameter is 600-800mm, and its load capacity is 20kg, capable of running smoothly. This pipe inspection equipment also has certain limitations, because it is driven by a cylinder, so the robot cannot move flexibly in the pipeline conveniently.
The pipeline inspection robot adopts the principle of electromagnetic adsorption to ensure the adaptability to vertical pipelines. The working principle is to embed a disk in the wheel rim made of magnetic permeable alloy, and the motor drives the wheel to roll through the synchronous belt. The disk is made of high-strength permanent magnet material. According to mechanical analysis, the strong magnetic force is enough to support the stable operation of the robot carrying the pipe inspection equipment in the magnetic pipeline, whether it is a vertical surface or an inclined surface. Its applicable pipe diameter reduction range is 80-180 mm.
The main body of the pipeline inspection robot is similar to the traditional screw-driven robot. The innovation point is the addition of a connection unit, which can connect more than two robot bodies to form a system. The pipeline inspection robot can work in a complex pipeline environment through combination. The connection unit is composed of three servo motors. These three servo motors have a clear division of labor and can be used to change the running direction and bend the robot body.
The current development of pipe inspection equipment is still immature, and it still needs unremitting efforts to reach the level of pipeline testing technology in developed areas. With the continuous development of technology, these high-quality pipe inspection equipment is expected to replace the original pipe inspection equipment, greatly improving the accuracy of pipeline inspection and the timeliness of hidden dangers.
