Optimization and experimental verification of the vibro-impact capsule system in fluid pipeline.

Yan, Yao; Liu, Yang; Jiang, Haibo; Peng, Zhike; Crawford, Alasdair; Williamson, James; Thomson, Jamie; Kerins, Gearoid; Yusupov, Azat; Islam, Sheikh

Abstract

This paper studies the prototype development of the vibro-impact capsule system aiming for autonomous mobile sensing for pipeline inspection. Self-propelled progression of the system is obtained by employing a vibro-impact oscillator encapsuled in the capsule without the requirement of any external mechanisms, such as wheels, arms, or legs. A dummy capsule prototype is designed, and the best geometric parameters, capsule and cap arc lengths, for minimizing fluid resistance forces are obtained through two-dimensional and three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics analyses, which are confirmed by wind tunnel tests. In order to verify the concept of self-propulsion, both original and optimized capsule prototypes are tested in a fluid pipe. Experimental results are compared with computational fluid dynamics simulations to confirm the efficacy of the vibro-impact self-propelled driving.

Citation

YAN, Y., LIU, Y., JIANG, H., PENG, Z., CRAWFORD, A., WILLIAMSON, J., THOMPSON, J., KERINS, G., YUSUPOV, A. and ISLAM, S. 2019. Optimization and experimental verification of the vibro-impact capsule system in fluid pipeline. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, part C: journal of mechanical engineering science [online], 233(3), pages 880-894. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406218766200

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 27, 2018
• Online Publication Date: May 3, 2018
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Nov 1, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 1, 2018
• Journal: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, part C: journal of mechanical engineering science
• Print ISSN: 0954-4062
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-2983
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 233
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 880-894
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406218766200
• Keywords: Vibroimpact; Self-propulsion; Capsule; Computational fluid dynamics; Pipeline inspection
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/3205