Mobility of Modular In-Pipe Inspection Robot inside Curved and L-Branch Pipes

This paper presents a modular design of a wheeled wall-press type In-pipe Inspection Robot using 3D printing technology. The proposed robot (Kuzhali) consists of a prismatic joint to which the modular parts are attached. This mechanism ensures that the wheels are in contact with the pipe's internal surface. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed on the custom-designed parts to see whether they can withstand the stress acting on them while passing through straight and curved pipelines. The analysis was carried out for curved pipes with a Factor of Safety of 1.5. To optimize the performance and durability of the robotic legs, the thickness of the components are modified. The design of the components was validated with an error of ± 5 %. The new design was fabricated and it was found that the proposed robot was able to move through straight, curved and L-branch pipes in the horizontal plane.