Design and fabrication of a maneuverable robot for in-pipe leak detection

Abstract

Leaks in pipelines have been causing a significant amount of financial losses and serious damages to the community and the environment. The recent development of in-pipe leak detection technologies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology made it possible to find the accurate location of leaks in underground pipes. However, like all in-pipe leak sensors, they need a maneuverable robot to transport them inside the pipes. In the pipe networks, the robot must be able to perform complicated movements such as sharp turns at Tee junctions. This thesis presents a solution to this in-pipe leak detection challenge and the design and a prototype of such robot. The design and fabrication of a small in-pipe swimming robot of high maneuverability is presented. The robot is equipped with a pair of customized micro RIM driven propellers which provide a powerful and safe propulsion. A prototype robot that operates in 10 cm diameter pipes is built and tested experimentally. This robot demonstrated experimentally abilities to follow straight lines and make turns with radii smaller than a fraction of its body length.