• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.261-266
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• 2002

Up to now a wide variety of researches on inpipe robots for inspection have been introduced, but it still seems to be difficult to construct a robot providing mobility sufficient to navigate inside the complicated configuration of underground pipelines. The robot for the inspection of pipelines should freely move along the basic configuration of pipelines such as along horizontal or vertical pipelines. Moreover it should be able to travel along reducers and elbows, and especially the capability for steering in branches is essential to it. In this report, citical points and technologies in the development of the inpipe inspection robots are introduced and inpipe robots developed for last several years are introduced.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Computer Information Conference
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• 2014.07a
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• pp.245-248
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• 2014

산업플랜트에는 고온 고압 배관 시스템을 갖춘 곳이 많으며, 이 배관 시스템의 건전성은 매우 중요하게 취급된다. 배관의 건전성 유지를 위해서는 일정 기간 동안 배관의 안정성 검사를 수행하게 되는데, 배관 시스템의 복잡성과 위험성으로 인한 검사자의 접근 자체가 매우 어려운 상황이 빈번하게 발생한다. 이를 해결하기 위하여 로봇 개술을 적용하는 연구개발이 지속되고 있는데 본 논문에서는 5축 대관절 매니퓰레이터 형태의 배관 등반이 가능한 반자동 원격 제어 로봇의 개발에 대하여 기술한다. 이 로봇의 구현을 위해서는 로봇의 배관 인지 기술, 로봇의 배관 그리핑 기술, 5축 관절의 제어 기술, 그리고 원격제어기술등이 요구된다.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2015.07a
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• pp.868-869
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• 2015

지하 매설된 가스배관을 정기적으로 검사하기 위해서 가스 공급 및 용역업체에서는 주로 비피과검사 탐상장비인 MFL(Magnetic Flux Leakage) PIG(Pipeline Inspection Gauge)를 사용한다. 기존의 MFL PIG는 배관 내 유체(가스,오일 등)의 전후차단 압력의 흐름을 이용해 별도의 구동장치 없이 피그를 진행시켜 배관의 결함 유무를 평가하는 시스템이다. 하지만 10기압 이하의 낮은 운영압력과 T 분기관과 같이 급격한 곡관부가 존재하는 직경 16인치 이하의 도시가스 배관에는 기존의 시스템을 적용하기 어렵다. 이처럼 기존 MFL PIG의 적용이 불가한 도시가스 배관(직경 16인치 이하)을 활주하기 위해서는 우선 비파괴검사 시스템을 견인할 수 있는 추진 로봇이 필요하고 추진로봇에 적합한 자기누설 비파괴검사 시스템의 개발이 필요하다. 또한 비파괴검사 장비의 센서 시스템은 결함신호를 탐지하여 결함의 발생유무 및 결함의 형상을 판별하는 성능도 중요하다. 본 논문에서는 16인치 도시가스 배관의 검사를 위한 자기누설 비파괴검사 시스템의 기초설계와 대상 시스템의 자기적 특성을 분석한다. 또한 배관 외벽의 결함 발생 유무에 따른 자기누설 신호의 크기 및 분포변화를 3차원 유한요소법을 이용해 해석하여, 결함 검출 신호의 특성을 분석하는데 초점을 둔다.

• ICROS
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.19-28
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• 2004

배관(pipeline)은 가스나 기름과 같은 많은 양의 유체를 빠르고 안전하게 수송하는 수단으로 현대 산업에서 필수적인 요소이다. 석유화학공장, 발전소 등과 같은 시설의 배관에서부터 우리의 생활과 밀접하게 관계되어 있는 가스관, 냉난방용 배관, 상하수도관까지 널리 설치, 운영되고 있다. 이러한 배관은 시간이 지남에 따라 노화, 부식으로 인한 결함이나 공사 등으로 인해 손상이 야기되고, 결국 배관의 안전성에 많은 문제점이 발생하게 되어 대형사고의 주요한 원인이 되고 있다. (중략)

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.662-671
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• 2009

In this paper, a robot was developed for in-pipe cleaning and inspecting a large number of circular in-pipes of sea plants, ships, and buildings. A pressure generation mechanism was devised to inspect circular in-pipes with different diameters and to move up and down slant or perpendicular slopes in-pipes. For inspection of the dark inner side of the pipe, a light system using LED which dissipats small electricity was developed. Also, a design method was analyzed to decide the capacity of driving motor for the robot when the mass and maximum velocity of the robot are identified. The robot developed based on the design specification, was tested to verify the performance of the pressure generation mechanism. In addition, a control system was developed for the test.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.1239-1240
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• 2010

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.2019-2029
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• 2001

Up to now a wide variety of researches on inpipe inspection robots have been introduced, but it still seems to be difficult to construct a robot providing mobility sufficient to navigate inside the complicated configuration of underground pipelines. This paper introduces a robot called MRINSPECT IV(Multifunctional Robotic Crawler for inpipe inSPECTion IV) for the inspection of urban gas pipelines with a nominal 4-inch inside diameter. The proposed robot can freely move along the basic configuration of pipelines such as along horizontal or vertical pipelines. Moreover it can travel along reducers, elbows, and steer in the branches by modulating the speeds of driving modules. Especially, its capability for steering in tile three-dimensional pipeline configuration has a competative edge over the other ones and provides excellent mobility in navigation. Its critical points in the design and construction are introduced and results of experiments are given.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.121-129
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• 2000

The robotic automation in NonDestructive Testing(NDT) is a promising field of research and it helps to expand the applications of NDT enormously. Especially, in the case of pipelines which are widely used in various industrial facilities, it is required to secure adequate ways of inspection in the usual maintenance activitites. In this paper, we present a robot system for inpipe inspection of underground urban gas pipelines. The robot is configured as an articulated structure like a snake with a tether cable. Two active driving vehicles are located in front and rear of the system, respectively and passive modules such as a NonDestructive Testing module and a control module are chained between the active vehicles. The proposed system has outstanding mobility by employing a new steering mechanism called Double Active Universal Joint, which makes it possible to cope with complicated configurations of underground pipelines. Characteristic features of the system are described and the construction of the system is briefly outlined.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.58-65
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• 2021

Most pipe-inspection robots have fixed sizes and use a wired cable system. Pipelines are generally composed of various structures, including bent pipes, vertical pipes, branch pipes, and holes, and it is difficult to explore the insides of such modular piping structures. In an offshore plant pipeline, a robot that can pass through the pipe hole in the downward direction or avoid obstacles, such as a measuring instruments, has not been introduced yet. In this study, an inspection robot that can travel through most pipelines in offshore plants is proposed. This robot uses mecanum wheels; upward, downward, and rotary motion; and a novel rotatable mechanism. Moreover, the robot is designed to be compact and lightweight to include additional devices in the middle.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.2030-2039
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• 2001

Recently, various inpipe inspection robots are developed and its effective values are increased in industrial use. However, it is so difficult to make a inpipe inspection robot system which has flexible mobility and accuracy of inspection in pipelines. Especially, it is very important to know the exact crack position. In this paper, we are to present a lately developed inpipe inspection robot system which can resolve the above Problems. The robot is configured as an articulated structure like a snake. Two active driving vehicles are located in front and rear of the inspection robot respectively and passive modules such as a nondestructive testing module and a control module are chained between the active vehicles. Special feature of the robot system is a ground interface, which is able to show informations of robot and pipelines. By using this, so called virtual map in this paper, user is able to know the pipelines'feature and crack position.