Design and Development of a Pipe Climbing Mechanism

Tasks performed along outer side of pipeline such as paint-marking and inspection require climbing and carrying loads at height, which is hazardous to human. There are several pipe climbing mechanisms being designed recently. However, their selection of clamp method and actuators results in either too bulky, or low in payload capability. This paper aims to propose a design of pipe climbing mechanism (PCM) with higher payload per weight of PCM that can be remotely controlled. A wheel type PCM was developed with the ability to cover and move along a 110 - 150 mm pipe diameter while carrying a payload of 3 kg. The forward and backward motion of the PCM is remotely controlled via wifi connection. Several pipe orientations were tested by the PCM, including vertical, horizontal and slanted pipes to evaluate its climbing ability in terms of speed. The proposed PCM is capable to climb without payload and 3 kg payload at speed of 0.369 m/s and 0.244 m/s, respectively. The increase of payload on the PCM causes the moving time along a horizontal pipe to slightly increase. The orientation of pipe affects the moving time of PCM due to the act of gravity. In the end, the objective of this paper was achieved with a huge potential to explore for a more intelligent and functional design in the future.