Scalable Comprehensive Automatic Inspection, Cleaning, and Evaluation Mechanism for Large-Diameter Pipes

Abstract

Cleaning and inspection of pipelines and gun barrels are crucial for ensuring safety and integrity to extend their lifespan. Existing automatic inspection approaches lack high robustness, as well as portability, and have movement restrictions and complexity. This study presents the design and development of a scalable, comprehensive automated inspection, cleaning, and evaluation mechanism (CAICEM) for large-sized pipelines and barrels with diameters in the range of 105 mm–210 mm. The proposed system is divided into electrical and mechanical assemblies that are independently designed, tested, fabricated, integrated, and controlled with industrial grid controllers and processors. These actuators are suitably programmed to provide the desired actions through toggle switches on a simple housing subassembly. The stress analysis and material specifications are obtained using ANSYS to ensure robustness and practicability. Later, on-ground testing and optimization are performed before industrial prototyping. The inspection system of the proposed mechanism includes barrel-mounted and brush-mounted cameras with sensors utilized to keep track of the pipeline deposits and monitor user activity. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed mechanism is cost-effective and achieves the desired objectives with minimum human efforts in the least possible time for both smooth and rifled large-diameter pipes and barrels.