Abstract— Inspection robots are used in many fields of industry. One application is monitoring the inside of the pipes and channels, recognizing and solving problems through the interior of pipes or channels. Automated inspection of the inner surface of a pipe can be achieved by a mobile robot. Because pipelines are typically buried underground, they are in contact with the soil and subject to corrosion, where the steel pipe wall oxidizes, and effectively reducing wall thickness. Although it’s less common, corrosion also can occur on the inside surface of the pipe and reduces the strength of the pipe. If crack goes undetected and becomes severe, the pipe can leak and, in rare cases, fail catastrophically. Extensive efforts are made to mitigate corrosion. Pipe inspection is necessary to locate defects due to corrosion and wear while the pipe is transporting fluids. This ability is necessary especially when one should inspect an underground pipe. In this work, Pipe Inspection Robot (PIR) with ability to move inside horizontal and vertical pipes has been designed and fabricated. The robot consists of a motor for driving and camera for monitoring.

Index Terms— PIR, Inspection robot, Pipe inspection, Pipe defects, Mobile robot

Cite: E Navin Prasad, M Kannan, A Azarudeen, and N Karuppasamy, " Defect Identification in Pipe Lines Using Pipe Inspection Robot," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol.1, No. 2, pp. 20-31, July 2012.