• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.175-183
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• 2008

In this paper, a new in-pipe inspection robot was developed for inspecting a large number of circular pipe insides of the sea plant, ships, and buildings. A new pressure generation system was devised to inspect circular pipes with different diameters and to move up and down slant or perpendicular slopes inside of the pipe. Also, a design method was analyzed to decide the capacity of driving motor for the robot if the mass and maximum velocity of the robot are identified. According to the design specification, a robot was developed and was tested to verify the performance of the pressure generation system. For tests, a control system was developed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.946-950
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• 2003

In this paper, a computer-vision based pipe shape inspection algorithm is developed. The algorithm uses the modified Hough transformation and a line-scanning approach to identify the edge line and radius of the pipe image, from which the eccentricity and dimension of the pipe-end is calculated. Line and circle detection was performed using Laplace operator with input image, which are acquired from the front and side cameras. In order to minimize the memory usage and the processing time, a clustering method with the modified Hough transformation for line detection. The dimension of inner and outer radius of pipe is calculated by proposed line-scanning method. The method scans several lines along the X and Y axes, calculating the eccentricity of inner and outer circle. by which pipes with wrong end-shape can be classified removed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.521-525
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• 2002

In this paper, a computer-vision based pipe-inspection algorithm is developed. The algorithm uses the modified Hough transformation and a line-scanning approach to identify the edge line and radius of the pipe image, from which the eccentricity and dimension of the pipe-end is calculated. Line and circle detection was performed using Laplace operator with input image, which are acquired from the front and side cameras. In order to minimize the memory usage and the processing time, a clustering method with the modified Hough transformation for line detection. The dimension of inner and outer radius of pipe is calculated by proposed line-scanning method. The method scans several lines along the X and Y axes, calculating the eccentricity of inner and outer circle, by which pipes with wrong end-shape can be classified removed.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.30-34
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• 2006

Recently, there has been an increasing demand for computer-vision-based inspection and/or measurement system as a part of factory automation equipment. In general, it is almost impossible to check the fault of all parts, coming from part-feeding system, with only manual inspection because of time limitation. Therefore, most of manual inspection is applied to specific samples, not all coming parts, and manual inspection neither guarantee consistent measuring accuracy nor decrease working time. Thus, in order to improve the measuring speed and accuracy of the inspection, a computer-aided measuring and analysis method is highly needed. In this paper, a computer-vision-based pipe inspection system is proposed, where the front and side-view profiles of three different kinds of pipes, coming from a forming line, are acquired by computer vision. And the edge detection is processed by using Laplace operator. To reduce the vision processing time, modified Hough transform is used with clustering method for straight line detection. And the center points and diameters of inner and outer circle are found to determine eccentricity of the parts. Also, an inspection system has been built so that the data and images of faulted parts are stored as files and transferred to the server.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.10
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• pp.1249-1254
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• 2012

Pipe inspections conducted in nuclear power plants play an important role in ensuring the structural integrity of pipes. Because considerable manpower and expense is required for pipe inspections, it is very important to determine the optimum inspection period and the level of inspection. In this study, the effects of the period and the inspection quality on the failure probability of pipes are investigated using the P-PIE program, which has been developed to calculate the failure probability of pipes. The pipe data of an internal nuclear power plant is used in the study, and fatigue and stress corrosion crack growth are considered in the analysis.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.816-821
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• 2004

The outlet feeder pipe thinning in a PHWR (Pressured Heavy Water Reactor) is caused by high pressure steam flow inside the pipe, which is a well known degradation mechanism called FAC (Flow Assisted Corrosion). In order to monitor the degradation, the thickness of the outlet bends closed to the exit of the pressure tube should be measured and analyzed at every official overhaul. This paper develops an automatic feeder pipe inspection system that can minimize the irradiation dose by automating the measurement process. The robot can move by itself on the feeder pipe by using an inch worm mechanism, which is constructed by two gripper bodies that can fix their body on the pipe and one extendable and retractable body connected the two gripper bodies to move forward and backward.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.239-245
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• 2007

A torsional guided wave mode in a tubular structure has many advantages in obtaining a higher sensitivity and lower attenuation for a defect, because it shows no dispersion characteristics and no radial displacement for a tubular structure. Many attempts have been made to excite and receive torsional guided waves by conventional piezoelectric transducers, but only a few examples are used during a practical field inspection. In this study, an array of electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) were for an excitation and reception of the torsional guided waves in a pipe was designed and fabricated. The signal patterns were analyzed based on various beam path length. The feasibility of detecting the defects was investigated through a series of experiments with artificial notches on a pipe.

• 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.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.33-44
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• 2020

This study analyzed how the installation of a pressure gauge in the indoor fire hydrant of an apartment building affected identifying pressurized water in the pipe, making it easier to conduct internal inspection on the fire suppression system, and ensuring reliability of fire suppression. The following are the study's results: First, identifying pressurized water in the indoor firefighting pipe had a positive effect on the installation of a pressure gauge in the indoor fire hydrant. This implies that a higher level of identification of pressurized water in the indoor firefighting pipe had a positive impact on improving the installation and use of a pressure gauge in the indoor fire hydrant. Second, making it easier for the fire safety officer to inspect the fire suppression system had a positive effect on the installation of a pressure gauge in the indoor fire hydrant. This suggests that if it becomes easier for the apartment building's stakeholder to conduct internal inspection or the firefighting facility manager to carry out inspection on the fire suppression system, it would have a positive effect on the installation of a pressure gauge in the indoor fire hydrant. Finally, ensuring reliability in fire suppression had a positive effect on the installation of a pressure gauge in the indoor fire hydrant. This implies that if it becomes easier to identify pressurized water in the indoor firefighting pipe, for the fire safety officer to conduct internal inspection, or for the firefighting facility manager to carry out inspection in accordance with the fire suppression system's internal inspection requirements, it would increase reliability in fire suppression, making it more necessary to install a pressure gauge in the indoor fire hydrant.