Systematic Design of a 3-DOF Dual-Segment Continuum Robot for In Situ Maintenance in Nuclear Power Plants
In situ maintenance works for nuclear power plants are highly beneficial as they can significantly reduce the current maintenance cycle and cost. However, removing absorber balls in a constrained environment through an inspection port is fairly challenging. In this article, a 3-DOF dual-segment cont...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Machines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/10/7/596 |
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| author | Guoxin Li Jingjun Yu Dailin Dong Jie Pan Haoran Wu Shengge Cao Xu Pei Xindong Huang Jianqing Yi |
| author_facet | Guoxin Li Jingjun Yu Dailin Dong Jie Pan Haoran Wu Shengge Cao Xu Pei Xindong Huang Jianqing Yi |
| author_sort | Guoxin Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In situ maintenance works for nuclear power plants are highly beneficial as they can significantly reduce the current maintenance cycle and cost. However, removing absorber balls in a constrained environment through an inspection port is fairly challenging. In this article, a 3-DOF dual-segment continuum robot system is proposed which is equipped with an end-effector to remove absorber balls by pneumatic conveying. Then, according to the symmetrical layout of actuation ropes, the kinematics of the single-segment continuum robot are extended, and the kinematics equation which is universal to the continuum robot with the dual segment is summarized. In addition, some special kinematics solutions can be obtained according to opposite-bending and feeding characteristics. Finally, the functions of the device are verified by tests. The results show that the continuum robot can smoothly pass through the divider plug and reach any position at the bottom of a ball-storage tank where absorber balls are located with only two segments. In a gas environment, the efficiency of absorber ball removal can reach 58.96 kg/h with a lift of 7.5 m and 48.54 kg/h with a lift of 10 m. This result undoubtedly paves the way for the in-service maintenance of nuclear power plants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:17:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-22dbeaa13bc7444182c19346bc776cae |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-1702 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:17:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Machines |
| spelling | doaj.art-22dbeaa13bc7444182c19346bc776cae2023-12-03T11:51:22ZengMDPI AGMachines2075-17022022-07-0110759610.3390/machines10070596Systematic Design of a 3-DOF Dual-Segment Continuum Robot for In Situ Maintenance in Nuclear Power PlantsGuoxin Li0Jingjun Yu1Dailin Dong2Jie Pan3Haoran Wu4Shengge Cao5Xu Pei6Xindong Huang7Jianqing Yi8School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, ChinaNuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610041, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, ChinaNuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610041, ChinaNuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610041, ChinaIn situ maintenance works for nuclear power plants are highly beneficial as they can significantly reduce the current maintenance cycle and cost. However, removing absorber balls in a constrained environment through an inspection port is fairly challenging. In this article, a 3-DOF dual-segment continuum robot system is proposed which is equipped with an end-effector to remove absorber balls by pneumatic conveying. Then, according to the symmetrical layout of actuation ropes, the kinematics of the single-segment continuum robot are extended, and the kinematics equation which is universal to the continuum robot with the dual segment is summarized. In addition, some special kinematics solutions can be obtained according to opposite-bending and feeding characteristics. Finally, the functions of the device are verified by tests. The results show that the continuum robot can smoothly pass through the divider plug and reach any position at the bottom of a ball-storage tank where absorber balls are located with only two segments. In a gas environment, the efficiency of absorber ball removal can reach 58.96 kg/h with a lift of 7.5 m and 48.54 kg/h with a lift of 10 m. This result undoubtedly paves the way for the in-service maintenance of nuclear power plants.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/10/7/596continuum robotin situ maintenanceremote operationpneumatic conveyingabsorber ball shutdown systemnuclear industry |
| spellingShingle | Guoxin Li Jingjun Yu Dailin Dong Jie Pan Haoran Wu Shengge Cao Xu Pei Xindong Huang Jianqing Yi Systematic Design of a 3-DOF Dual-Segment Continuum Robot for In Situ Maintenance in Nuclear Power Plants Machines continuum robot in situ maintenance remote operation pneumatic conveying absorber ball shutdown system nuclear industry |
| title | Systematic Design of a 3-DOF Dual-Segment Continuum Robot for In Situ Maintenance in Nuclear Power Plants |
| title_full | Systematic Design of a 3-DOF Dual-Segment Continuum Robot for In Situ Maintenance in Nuclear Power Plants |
| title_fullStr | Systematic Design of a 3-DOF Dual-Segment Continuum Robot for In Situ Maintenance in Nuclear Power Plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Systematic Design of a 3-DOF Dual-Segment Continuum Robot for In Situ Maintenance in Nuclear Power Plants |
| title_short | Systematic Design of a 3-DOF Dual-Segment Continuum Robot for In Situ Maintenance in Nuclear Power Plants |
| title_sort | systematic design of a 3 dof dual segment continuum robot for in situ maintenance in nuclear power plants |
| topic | continuum robot in situ maintenance remote operation pneumatic conveying absorber ball shutdown system nuclear industry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/10/7/596 |
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