Design and modeling of a walking mechanism for the self-adapting pipeline robot

Abstract

Self-adapting pipeline robot is widely used in many industrial fields and the walking mechanism is its critical part. According to the actual dimensional demand of a certain pipeline and the requirement of self-adapting pipeline robot, a walking mechanism is designed based on the double-cross structure and modelled through utilizing 3D modeling software. The walking mechanism can adjust its size to adapt to pipeline with different diameters. The workbench can be kept in the center of the pipeline by optimization of size of the double-cross structure. There are two driving wheels in the bottom and one driving wheel in the top to constitute three-point type, which can improve the stability and load capacity of the robot. The H-type driving wheel is adopted to improve stability and reliability of the contact between the wheel and the guide. Through optimizing parameters of the double-cross structure, the designed walking mechanism can meet the requirement of the pipeline with diameters from 480mm to 600mm. Furthermore, constructions of the walking mechanism are modelled by the Solidworks modeling software, which can verify the feasibility of the design. Design and modeling of the walking mechanism are propitious to give technical support to maintenance and repair of the pipeline.