Pneumatic Duplex-Chambered Inchworm Mechanism for Narrow Pipes Driven by Only Two Air Supply Lines
Pneumatic Duplex-Chambered Inchworm Mechanism for Narrow Pipes Driven by Only Two Air Supply Lines
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DOI：
10.1109/lra.2020.3003859
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发表时间：
2020-10
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Tomonari Yamamoto;Sayako Sakama;A. Kamimura
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Tomonari Yamamoto;Sayako Sakama;A. Kamimura
小型管道机器人是改进管道检测流程的关键，尤其对于小直径管道而言。然而，在这类空间中的机器人移动，即通过狭窄且灵活的机构实现高移动性能是困难的。本文提出的新型管道内移动机构通过独特的双腔结构实现了在狭窄管道中的快速移动。该机构通过可膨胀硅橡胶和螺旋弹簧的组合实现了平稳的双向尺蠖式移动，并且仅由两条供气管路完全控制。本文从工作压力的角度介绍了相关概念和移动技术，包括数学分析和讨论。对原型机构进行了若干实验以阐明其特性。通过水平、垂直和弯曲管道的移动测试结果表明，该机构能够以45.5毫米/秒的速度在25毫米的管道中水平行进，这是此类尺寸的双向管道机器人迄今所报道的最快速度。
Small in-pipe robots are key to improving pipe inspection procedures, especially for narrow diameters. However, robotic locomotion in such spaces, namely achieving a high locomotion performance with a narrow and flexible mechanism, is difficult. The novel in-pipe locomotion mechanism proposed in this letter achieves rapid locomotion through narrow pipes by a unique duplex-chambered structure. The mechanism achieves smooth bi-directional inchworm locomotion by a combination of expandable silicone rubber and a coil spring and is fully controlled by only two air supply lines. The concept and locomotion technique, including a mathematical analysis and discussion from the viewpoint of operational pressure, are presented herein. Several experiments on the prototyped mechanism were performed to elucidate its characteristics. The results of locomotion tests through horizontal, vertical, and bent pipes showed that the mechanism can horizontally navigate through 25-mm pipes at 45.5 mm/s, which is the fastest yet reported for this size of bi-directional in-pipe robot.