• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.65-77
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• 2017

In this paper, we introduce the pipe cleaning robot developed to clean the gas impurities of the iron manufacturing equipments. The pipe cleaning robot is composed of two driving modules and one cleaning module. 2-DOF joint units were developed for connections among the modules. To maximize the traction power of the driving parts, it became caterpillar type. The extension links have been developed to maintain the traction force in case the pipe inner diameters change. Three cleaning modules were developed for the effective cleaning in the pipe. The driving and cleaning performance tests of the pipe cleaning robot were proceeded in the field of the iron manufacturing equipments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.123-129
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• 2012

Recently, interests on cleaning robots workable in pipes (termed as in-pipe cleaning robot) are increasing because Garbage Automatic Collection Facilities (i.e, GACF) are widely being installed in Seoul metropolitan area of Korea. So far research on in-pipe robot has been focused on inspection rather than cleaning. In GACF, when garbage is moving, the impurities which are stuck to the inner face of the pipe are removed (diameter: 300 mm or 400 mm). Thus, in this paper, by using TRIZ (Inventive Theory of Problem Solving in Russian abbreviation), an in-pipe cleaning robot of GACF with the 6-link sliding mechanism will be proposed, which can be adjusted to fit into the inner face of pipe using pneumatic pressure(not spring). The proposed in-pipe cleaning robot for GACF can have forward/backward movement itself as well as rotation of brush in cleaning. The robot body should have the limited size suitable for the smaller pipe with diameter of 300 mm. In addition, for the pipe with diameter of 400 mm, the links of robot should stretch to fit into the diameter of the pipe by using the sliding mechanism. Based on the conceptual design using TRIZ, we will set up the initial design of the robot in collaboration with a field engineer of Robot Valley, Inc. in Korea. For the optimal design of in-pipe cleaning robot, the maximum impulsive force of collision between the robot and the inner face of pipe is simulated by using RecurDyn(R) when the link of sliding mechanism is stretched to fit into the 400 mm diameter of the pipe. The stresses exerted on the 6 links of sliding mechanism by the maximum impulsive force will be simulated by using ANSYS$^{(R)}$ Workbench based on the Design Of Experiment(in short DOE). Finally the optimal dimensions including thicknesses of 4 links will be decided in order to have the best safety factor as 2 in this paper as well as having the minimum mass of 4 links. It will be verified that the optimal design of 4 links has the best safety factor close to 2 as well as having the minimum mass of 4 links, compared with the initial design performed by the expert of Robot Valley, Inc. In addition, the prototype of in-pipe cleaning robot will be stated with further research.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.923-930
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• 2016

Various pipes are used in the many industrial field such as water supply, drainage system and marine plants, so a maintenance of these pipes is essential. Especially, the maintenance of the piping in the industrial field, some professional staffs enter and clean the pipe. If the professional staffs can not enter and clean the pipe, the workers has to use the method of inserting a scraper connected to wire inside the pipe. However, this method demands huge budget and causes a number of problems such as traffic congestion. To solve these problems, pipe cleaning robot has been researching and developing. Many Pipe cleaning robots have a problem, that is impossible to confirm the operating condition of the robot in a real time. This paper suggest pipe cleaning robot with RS-485 which transmit operating and cleaning condition of robot and inner pipe filmed by camera, that user can check.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.894-901
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• 2012

For more efficient use of the high pressure water-jet in rehabilitation of the water pipes, we have studied the water-jet cleaning motion of the in-pipe robot with screw drive. The mathematical models of the water-jet in the straight and the curved pipe (90 degrees elbow), representative features of the water mains, were designed to understand the water-jet motion and simulations have been performed. Furthermore the experiments has been conducted to validate the simulations by using the prototype in-pipe robot in the 3-D pipeline. The simulation results show that the water-jet motion in the straight pipe has a constant water-jet interval, whereas the motion in the curved pipe is changed by its position. By the comparison of the simulation and the experimental results, we have demonstrated that the simulations successfully estimate the water-jet motion inside the water pipes. Therefore in-pipe robot operators can predict a water-jet motion for a target water pipe through the simulation and flexibly make a proper water-jet motion by changing the robot configurations before a cleaning work.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.662-671
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• 2009

In this paper, a robot was developed for in-pipe cleaning and inspecting a large number of circular in-pipes of sea plants, ships, and buildings. A pressure generation mechanism was devised to inspect circular in-pipes with different diameters and to move up and down slant or perpendicular slopes in-pipes. For inspection of the dark inner side of the pipe, a light system using LED which dissipats small electricity was developed. Also, a design method was analyzed to decide the capacity of driving motor for the robot when the mass and maximum velocity of the robot are identified. The robot developed based on the design specification, was tested to verify the performance of the pressure generation mechanism. In addition, a control system was developed for the test.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.309-310
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• 2010

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2011.06a
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• pp.323-324
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• 2011

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.1-7
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• 2015

Cleaning by injecting dry ice and water is a generally adopted trend these days to clean molds (injection, diecasting foundry, press, rubber mold, etc). This cleaning method is performed manually, or by installing multiple high pressure spray nozzles. We have manufactured a turbine cleaning module device that is able to clean diecasting modules at any position and angle in the space by mounting an articulated robot instead of the existing pipe type injection nozzle, to minimize lead time and enhance working yield of the cleaning process. In this paper, we analyzed process factors that are required to design the turbine module by reviewing number of revolution, and results according to different blade angles and thicknesses of the mold release injection turbine module, using computational fiuid dynamics (CFD).

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.1173-1178
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• 2007

The robot for narrow space is used in searching, investigating or cleaning. Up to now variety of researches on in-pipe robots have been introduced. However it is still hard to overcome vertical or curved passage. In most cases of narrow space robots are able to travel just aimed diameter which was selected when those are developed. Also, a large percentage of robots are not able to detect the configuration of pipe or circumstance. In this paper we present a robot called PAROYSⅡ for narrow space with vertical and curved passage. This proposed robot is not affected at all to variance of pipes, vertical or horizontal passages, curved pipes, projecting parts and parallel planes. In addition to that, it will perceive the internal configuration of pipe and terrain, which will be not only available to control navigating scheme by itself, but also mappable about the passage which the robot traveled. Core points in the design and structure are introduced and preliminary verification is given.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.1030-1035
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• 2011

The remote control of mobile robot is widely used to perform dangerous and complex tasks such as underwater exploration and cleaning of nuclear reactor. For this purpose, the obstacle avoidance process will proceed to ensure a safe drive. In this paper, we tested that mobile robot drive in which replaced a pipe with a box. After we measured the distance around the obstacle through a sensor of robot, we got the information that changed haptic force from the distance of the obstacle.