Inside pipe manipulator
Inside pipe manipulators are devices for automatic or semi-automatic processing of the inside of pipelines , especially for the inspection and processing of steel pipes. The machines, some of which are also known as pipe robots, can, depending on the work module, check the inside walls of pipes, grind or weld them , coat pipes from the inside , recover material from pipes or extract dust or sediments from them.
The devices are used for inspections, condition-based maintenance , revisions or rehabilitation of pipelines, for example in coal-fired and nuclear power plants , refineries , on oil platforms or drilling rigs, in general in the chemical and petrochemical industry, but also in the manufacture of pipes or assembly of pipelines. During assembly, the internal pipe manipulators ensure flawless weld seams: while the pipes are being laid and welded, the devices grind the inside in the order in which they were installed.
Construction and working method
Inside pipe manipulators consist of a base body with rollers (for working in pipes with always the same diameter) or with wheels that can be extended via a scissor drive and are supported on the inside of the pipe. The versions with scissor drive usually have six or twelve wheels and are suitable for working in pipes with variable diameters. Variants with belt or chain drives are also available on the market .
There are also one or more cameras with which the operator can locate the area to be processed inside the pipe outside the pipe and check the condition of the surface and the progress of the work. The camera is also illuminated; the images are transmitted to a monitor on a control unit outside the pipe.
The manipulators are supplemented by work modules for the intended type of processing. These can be modules with rotating grinding wheels or grinding stones, with welding devices , for condition testing using eddy current, ultrasonic or dye penetration methods, for suction or gripping.
Drive way
The devices move into the pipes with the help of electrical drives (automatic manipulators) or are inserted on a rod (semi-automatic manipulators). The work modules are supplied with electricity (e.g. cameras) or operated with compressed air (pneumatically) (e.g. grinding stones and grinding wheels).
Limits of use
For the electrical and pneumatic supply, cables and hoses are required that set physical limits for the internal pipe manipulator: While there are hardly any technical restrictions on straight sections, the options are limited by the number of bends in the pipe system, as the frictional resistance of the cables and hoses increases The number of arches increases.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See European patent specification EP 0 856 118 B1, international publication number: WO 97/14903 (April 24, 1997 Gazette 1997/18)
- ↑ See "Smoothing weld seams in pipes". In: Blechrohr Profiles, Volume 58 (2011), Issue 11. Page 34 f.
- ↑ See “Looking through the pipe”. In: BBR - Bänder | Bleche | Rohr, Volume 53 (2012), Issue 2. Page 34 f. ( Online ( Memento from January 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ))
- ↑ Cf. “Long, narrow, narrow and yet sparkling clean. Solutions for testing, grinding, welding, recovery and suction inside the pipe ”. In: Industrial Engineering & Maintenance, April 2012, page 47.
- ↑ See "Inspecting, testing and grinding inside the pipe". In: Schleifen + Polieren, Volume 16 (2012), Issue 4. Page 82 f.
- ↑ See "High-performance grinder smooths weld seams in pipes". In: bayern Metall, 64th year (2011), issue 10, page 14 f.