Liang Liang, Puhua Tang, Bai Chen, Yong Tang, Yan Xu, and Daiyong Lin
Computational fluid dynamics, interior and exterior spiral in-piperobots, dynamical modelling, orthogonal optimization, performance comparison
An in-pipe robot, which has an interior and exterior spiral surface, is proposed. Changing the superficial area ratio between the exterior and interior spiral sections can alter the rotational speeds of the exterior and interior surfaces of the robot, which, in turn, can reduce the rotational speed of the exterior surface and lower invasion to the inner wall of a pipeline. Meanwhile, increasing the rotational speed of the interior spiral does not decrease the bearing capacity of a liquid. The performance of the designed robot is compared with those of existing single and double sectional spiral robots. The axial driving force per unit volume and the supporting force of the interior and exterior spiral robot are greater than those of the existing single and double sectional exterior spiral robots. The optimal structural parametrical combination of the exterior spiral is obtained. Based on the driving principle of the interior and exterior spiral robot, an interior and exterior spiral drive system is developed. In addition, an operating experiment of the drive system on a pipeline filled with liquid of a certain viscosity is performed.
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