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Obstacle crossing and traction performance of active and passive screw pipeline robots

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Abstract

Pipelines are important tools for transporting fluids. The regular use of pipeline robots to inspect pipelines is an important safety measure. Passive and active screw pipeline robots have been developed and have various characteristics. In this work, the structure and driving method of screw pipeline robots were introduced. An obstacle crossing model of active and passive screw pipeline robots was established and compared using the developed screw pipeline robots. A traction model of the active and passive screw pipeline robots that considers lateral and longitudinal slip characteristics was obtained. Then, the proposed pipeline robot traction model with lateral and longitudinal slips was verified through experiments. A traction experiment on the active screw pipeline robot with improved contact confirmed that an increase in the adhesion coefficient and reduction in driving wheel slip can increase traction force.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610500, China

    Qing Tu, Qingyou Liu & Yujia Li

  2. State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610059, China

    Qingyou Liu

  3. Robotics Research Center, Xihua University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610069, China

    Tao Ren

Authors
  1. Qing Tu
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  2. Qingyou Liu
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  3. Tao Ren
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  4. Yujia Li
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qingyou Liu.

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Recommended by Associate Editor

Qing Tu received his B.Eng. from the School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Sichuan Province, China, in 2015. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. in the School of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include the oil and gas equipment and pipeline robot.

Qingyou Liu received his Ph.D. from the School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Sichuan Province, China, in 1997. Currently, he is a Professor in State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Chengdu University of Technology. His research interests include the oil and gas equipment, oil and gas wells engineering mechanics and pipeline robot.

Tao Ren received the B.S. degree in process equipment and control engineering and the M.S. degree in power engineering, and the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, China, in 2011, 2014 and 2017, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor with the Robotics Research Center, Xihua University, China. His research interests include design, modeling, and control of advanced mechatronics systems.

Yujia Li received the B.S. degree in process equipment and control engineering and the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, China, in 2012 and 2017, respectively. She is currently a Lecturer and a Postdoctoral Fellow with Southwest Petroleum University, China. Her research interests include service robotics, pipeline robots, and additive manufacturing.

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Tu, Q., Liu, Q., Ren, T. et al. Obstacle crossing and traction performance of active and passive screw pipeline robots. J Mech Sci Technol 33, 2417–2427 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0440-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0440-9

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