Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B08—CLEANING
  • B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
  • B08B9/00—Cleaning hollow articles by methods or apparatus specially adapted thereto 
  • B08B9/02—Cleaning pipes or tubes or systems of pipes or tubes
  • B08B9/027—Cleaning the internal surfaces; Removal of blockages
  • B08B9/04—Cleaning the internal surfaces; Removal of blockages using cleaning devices introduced into and moved along the pipes
  • B08B9/049—Cleaning the internal surfaces; Removal of blockages using cleaning devices introduced into and moved along the pipes having self-contained propelling means for moving the cleaning devices along the pipes, i.e. self-propelled
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B08—CLEANING
  • B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
  • B08B15/00—Preventing escape of dirt or fumes from the area where they are produced; Collecting or removing dirt or fumes from that area
  • B08B15/04—Preventing escape of dirt or fumes from the area where they are produced; Collecting or removing dirt or fumes from that area from a small area, e.g. a tool
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
  • B24C—ABRASIVE OR RELATED BLASTING WITH PARTICULATE MATERIAL
  • B24C3/00—Abrasive blasting machines or devices; Plants
  • B24C3/02—Abrasive blasting machines or devices; Plants characterised by the arrangement of the component assemblies with respect to each other
  • B24C3/06—Abrasive blasting machines or devices; Plants characterised by the arrangement of the component assemblies with respect to each other movable; portable
  • B24C3/065—Abrasive blasting machines or devices; Plants characterised by the arrangement of the component assemblies with respect to each other movable; portable with suction means for the abrasive and the waste material
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
  • B24C—ABRASIVE OR RELATED BLASTING WITH PARTICULATE MATERIAL
  • B24C5/00—Devices or accessories for generating abrasive blasts
  • B24C5/02—Blast guns, e.g. for generating high velocity abrasive fluid jets for cutting materials
  • B24C5/04—Nozzles therefor
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
  • B24C—ABRASIVE OR RELATED BLASTING WITH PARTICULATE MATERIAL
  • B24C9/00—Appurtenances of abrasive blasting machines or devices, e.g. working chambers, arrangements for handling used abrasive material
  • B24C9/003—Removing abrasive powder out of the blasting machine
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L2101/00—Uses or applications of pigs or moles
  • F16L2101/10—Treating the inside of pipes
  • F16L2101/12—Cleaning
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L55/00—Devices or appurtenances for use in, or in connection with, pipes or pipe systems
  • F16L55/26—Pigs or moles, i.e. devices movable in a pipe or conduit with or without self-contained propulsion means
  • F16L55/28—Constructional aspects
  • F16L55/30—Constructional aspects of the propulsion means, e.g. towed by cables
  • F16L55/32—Constructional aspects of the propulsion means, e.g. towed by cables being self-contained

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the general field of robots for inspection and / or renovation of pipes.
• a penstock is a hydraulic pipe consisting of a pipe assembly, intended to convey pressurized water to a hydroelectric plant located downstream and below the water reservoir that feeds it.
• the present invention aims more particularly at improving the movement of robots intended for the renovation of pipes, in order to avoid the phenomenon of angular drift or twisting of the robots in the pipes.
• the invention applies to any robot intended for any type of inspection and / or repair work of pipes or other conduits of different sizes and geometries. that must be done without trench.
• a large number of pipes of greater or lesser diameter are widely used nowadays in a broad spectrum of industries.
• local authorities may use large diameter pipes for stormwater drainage and water management in general.
• the oil and gas industry, as well as the power generation industry, use these pipes for the transportation of oil and gas.
• Hydropower plants use very large diameter pipes, so-called forced pipes for the transport of water under pressure.
• Pipes can be distinguished in terms of their diameter, since for relatively small diameters, typically less than about 1.30 meters, manual cleaning and / or inspection is practically impossible, while for diameters greater than about 1.30 meters these operations remain theoretically possible manually because accessible by a human person.
• Some of the methods of conventional visual inspection and retrofit of relatively large diameter pipes are to use an entrance for a human being to visually inspect and, where appropriate, perform repair and / or manual maintenance of the inner wall of the pipe. the driving.
• the applicant company of the present application has sought to define a robot for the renovation with stripping and if necessary paint coating of penstock whose diameters can be as small, that is to say less than 1.3 m , that big.
• These penstocks usually consist of metal tubes assembled along a slope and protected by external and internal coatings.
• the maintenance or renovation consists in making a surface preparation in adequacy with the application of a new coating of paint.
• This preparation may for example consist of a stripping with an abrasive projection, also usually called shot blasting, which creates a certain surface roughness for the grip and the application of a new coating of paint.
• elbows may be present in the penstock, including a radius of curvature of elbows that can be at least equal to 3 times the diameter of the pipe.
• the inventors of the present invention thus made an inventory of existing solutions.
• the robots already proposed are mainly for the inspection of pipes and among the few identified renovation robots, they can only withstand low loads and are very likely to have difficulties in pipes with high inclination.
• EP0647812 A1 discloses in particular a working robot for a range of pipe diameters between 400 and 800mm, the implementation of which is limited to horizontal pipes and without bends.
• EP 0378480B1 discloses an inspection robot for a range of pipe diameters between 500 and 1000 mm, which can certainly move in pipes vertically but necessarily with small bends.
• Patent applications US2012 / 090111 and US2015 / 121646 and US8794636B2 disclose an inspection robot for a range of pipe diameters between 700 and 900 mm, which is sensitive to small surface variations and offers inaccurate movements .
• Patent EP1245692B1 relates to a mechanized working robot for a range of pipe diameters between 800 and 2000 mm, certainly robust but requires a manual movement, that is to say a manual port inside the pipe.
• the patent application WO2011 / 009420 relates to a working robot for a wide range of pipe diameters between 360 and 1300 mm, which is also robust and Relatively easy movement in all pipe profiles, but not inclined to bear significant loads.
• the patent application AU2015207819 A1 relates to a working robot for a range of pipe diameters between 600 and 4000 mm, limited to those of linear, horizontal and without elbows water networks.
• US Pat. No. 8633713B2 discloses an automated working robot for a range of pipe diameters between 1000 and 1800 mm, which is certainly robust and reliable but limited to linear pipeline lines without bends. This robot also has the disadvantage of being bulky.
• the patent application WO2016 / 014566 relates to an automated working robot for a range of pipe diameters between 1300 and 3000 mm, limited to those with low elbow.
• Mechanized robots with UHP cleaning sprays marketed by the companies HUBERT and ETTER on the one hand and DONELLI on the other, are solutions that are designed without automation, tailor-made only for a given renovation project and that require winch guiding from the outside of the pipe.
• Patent EP2503208B1 relates to a robot for the renovation of penstocks for a range of diameters between 1800 and 3000 mm, which is not automated and which again requires the use of a winch.
• the patent application ROI 30410 finally discloses a robotic pipe renovation for a range of diameters between 1300 and 3800 mm, which is certainly very light, but not robust and resistant to a working environment under severe conditions.
• the patent FR2638813B1 relates to a robot for the renovation of penstocks for a range of diameters between 1300 and 1800 mm, which seems heavy and not prone to be implemented in pipes with high inclination, especially vertically.
• the disclosed robot does not provide a remote work area, which can be detrimental to the robot itself.
• the inventors of the present invention have been able to point out that robotic cleaning solutions for pipes do not satisfy the very strict stripping constraints imposed for the cleaning of penstocks and their repainting requiring a state of repair. standardized surface according to ISO 8501-1, 8501-2, 8501-3.
• shot blasting solutions that could be both very efficient, clean, that is to say that offer a projection of localized shot and a recovery of all the projected shot, and compact to be easily implanted in a very small environment dedicated in a robot.
• the object of the invention is to respond at least in part to this (these) need (s).
• the invention relates, in one of its aspects, to a shot-blasting and suction device for the shot, mounted at the free end of the support arm, the device comprising a suitable shot-blasting nozzle in order to project shot against the wall of the pipe, a first envelope, called the guiding envelope, arranged around the nozzle to guide the flow of projected shot, before the latter has struck the wall of the pipe, a second envelope, said confinement envelope, arranged relative to the guiding envelope to confine the shot, once it has struck the wall of the pipe, to at least one suction duct and one or more brushes of contact with the pipe wall, arranged by surrounding the guiding envelope and that of containment to maintain the confinement of the projected shot closer to the pipe wall, the contact or brushes being furthermore adapted to let in the air.
• the guiding envelope is preferably arranged at the front of the confinement envelope, the direction of movement of the robot being considered from the rear to the front.
• each of the envelopes is shaped as a truncated cone, the truncated cone of the guide and the truncated cone of confinement having the same axis, the truncated cone of guiding being arranged inside the truncated cone confinement.
• This first configuration is a very compact arrangement because the shot projection is in a central cone and the suction at the immediate periphery of this central cone.
• the blasting nozzle is adapted to project a shot of substantially conical shot of axis coincident with that of the truncated cones.
• each of the envelopes is shaped as a truncated cone, the truncated cone of guiding having a secant axis with that of the truncated cone of confinement, the truncated cone of guiding being arranged partly inside the truncated cone confined.
• This second configuration is also a very compact arrangement with the possibility of separating the shot feed duct from that of suction and of separately tilting the projection axis of the shot and the suction axis relative to to the wall surface to be stripped.
• the confinement envelope is shaped in the form of a cylinder and the guiding envelope is shaped in the form of a truncated cone, the confinement cylinder having a secant axis with that of the truncated cone of guiding, the truncated cone guide being arranged near the containment cylinder.
• This third configuration is an alternative to the other two, also compact with the possibility of implanting closer to the wall surface to be stripped, the projection nozzle.
• the second and third configurations make it possible to achieve shot blast productivity because the volume in which the shot is projected corresponds to the complete volume of the guiding truncated cone.
• the invention essentially consists in defining a device that performs both the shot projection and the suction of the shot shot, with a shell dedicated to guide the shot clearly separated from the containment envelope, which allows to have a projection with a very high speed of the particles of shot and a suction with a very high flow rate, and this avoiding the risk of aspiration of at least part of the shot before its impact on the wall surface to stripped.
• the shot blasting is very efficient and very clean since all the particles of shot are sucked locally immediately after their impact on the wall, and in a small space, which allows a significant compactness of the device.
• the invention also relates in another of its aspects, a robot for the renovation and / or inspection of a pipe, comprising a frame itself comprising:
• each foot of the tripod extends along a longitudinal axis and comprises, at its free end, a displacement track intended to moving the robot by pressing against the wall of a pipe;
• a connecting sub-frame forming a universal joint connecting the two sub-frames and adapted to allow a displacement sub-frame to pivot relative to the other in two degrees of freedom;
• At least one tool support arm itself supported at a free end of one of the two displacement subframes, and rotatably mounted 360 ° about the longitudinal axis of said subframe;
• the support arm may also be mounted free in longitudinal translation along the longitudinal axis of the displacement subframe which supports it. It is thus possible to provide a telescopic support arm, which makes it possible to distance the shot blasting and suction device from the shot, from the rest of the robot, to a certain distance and thus to guarantee that no projection of renovation product ( shot and / or paint) does not foul the rest of the robot. This also allows the stripping of a large surface of the pipe, with the robot in motion stop, the arm being brought back as and when to the subframe that supports it, as described below with reference to the process.
• the robot supports a shot recycling unit, connected upstream to the suction duct and downstream to the shot nozzle.
• the invention also relates, in yet another of its aspects, to a process for stripping by blasting a wall implemented by a device described above comprising the following steps: projecting grit by means of the blasting nozzle from the inside of the guiding envelope;
• the steps il and iil are carried out continuously during a rotation at least equal to 360 ° of the support arm around the longitudinal axis of the sub-frame, the robot being in motion stop in the pipe.
• the method comprises the following successive steps:
• step a 1 dl translation of the support arm in the opposite direction to that of step a 1, so as to bring the grit and suction projection device closer to the subframe, the inverse translation being carried out according to a substantially identical approach step of equal length; that of the stripped wall area;
• the invention finally relates in another of its aspects, the use of the device according to the invention described above for the renovation with pickling by blasting, and if necessary with coating of penstocks.
• the grit blasting device and the grit suction device can be used for pickling any wall surface, more particularly a metal surface.
• It can be mounted on a moving robot such as the one with two displacement subframes described above, or any other robot, in particular those susceptible around a structure with multiple surfaces and complex shape that it is necessary to stripping for subsequent paint coating.
• Examples of this type of structure are numerous such as railway rolling stock, motor vehicles or aircraft fuselages that are likely to be stripped.
• an aircraft fuselage may in the course of its life have to undergo stripping in order to coat it with a new coating of paint.
• the current processes used in this type of application are not necessarily effective and are either manual (sanding) and involve a significant time which is clearly detrimental to the immobilization time of the aircraft, and therefore expensive, or chemical with the need to use a very large volume of water.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a robot according to the invention for the inspection and renovation of penstocks, Figure 1 showing the support arm of renovation tooling in a folded position;
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the robot according to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 showing the renovation tooling support arm in an extended position;
• FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a first configuration of a shot blasting and suction device of the shot shot according to the invention as mounted at the free end of the support arm of FIGS. 1 and 2; ;
• FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are views respectively in perspective, from below of the envelopes for guiding and confining the device according to a second configuration, and in perspective of their configuration against the wall of a pipe to be stripped;
• FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are views respectively in perspective, from below of the guiding and confinement envelopes of the device in a third configuration, and in perspective of their configuration against the wall of a pipe to be stripped;
• FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a mounting variant with possible displacement of the shot blasting device and suction of the shot shot according to the invention on the support arm of the robot.
• front and back refer to a direction of movement of a robot according to the invention in a penstock.
• the robot's movement is reversible: also, it goes without saying that a part of the robot, such as a tripod, designated before, in a direction of movement of the robot in the pipe becomes a rear part in the opposite direction of movement.
• FIGS. 1 and 2 show a robot according to the invention intended to carry out camera inspection and / or renovation with shotblasting followed, if necessary, by a paint coating of penstocks.
• the robot 1 comprises a frame 2 with two displacement subframes 3; 4 each supporting three moving feet 31 to 33; 41 to 43 forming a tripod.
• Each foot of tripod 31 to 33; 41 to 43 extends along a longitudinal axis Y1 to
• Each foot of the tripod is rotatably mounted about its longitudinal axis Y1 to Y3; Y 'l to Y'3.
• a cardan joint connecting sub-frame 5 connects the two sub-frames 3 and 4.
• This universal joint 5 is adapted to allow a displacement sub-frame 3 to be pivoted relative to the other 4 in two degrees of rotation. freedom.
• Each of these two cylinders 5, 6 has one end connected to a sub-frame 3, 4 and the other end connected to one of the axes 50, 51 of the universal joint 5.
• each of the two displacement subframes 3; 4 a pivoting ring 35; 45 which is rotatably mounted about the longitudinal axis X; X 'of said subframe and is connected by at least one connecting rod 36; 46 at each foot of the tripod, and a steering cylinder 37; 47, one end of which is to the subframe and the other end to the crown 35; 45.
• the actuation of the steering cylinder 37 of the crown 35 of the rear subframe 3 is independent of the cylinder 47 of orientation 47 of the ring 45.
• the set of displacement feet 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, 43 are identical. Thus the description for a foot 31 is for the others.
• the foot 30 is rotatably mounted about its axis Y1 through a ring 30.
• the crawler 34 at the free end of the foot 31 is mounted with its independent driving motor 38 pivoting about a pivot which allows to rotate said track 34, 180 ° about its axis Y1 and thus to reverse the direction of movement of the robot 1.
• Each foot 31, 41 is connected by means of two connecting rods 36, 46 to the crown 35, 45.
• the front subframe 4 supports a tool support arm 8 and preferably an inspection camera.
• this arm 8 supports a device 9 forming a bell for projecting shot and sucking the shot shot according to the invention.
• the support arm 8 is also telescopic because it is driven by via a rack 83 and an associated drive motor.
• the renovation tooling shot blasting such as the bell 9 can be moved away along the longitudinal axis X 'of the sub-frame 4 which supports it. This makes it possible to make shot peening cycles over a considerable length of wall with the robot at the stop of displacement, as explained later.
• the bell 9 firstly incorporates a shot peening nozzle 90, adapted to project shot against the wall of the pipe (C) to be etched.
• a guide casing 91 arranged around the nozzle 90 guides the flow of projected shot before the latter has struck the wall of the pipe.
• a containment casing 92 is arranged relative to the guiding envelope to confine the shot once it has struck the wall of the duct towards at least one suction duct 93.
• the guide casing 91 makes it possible to avoid any unwanted suction of the shot by the confinement envelope 92, before the shot has actually struck the pipe wall to be stripped. Thus, it ensures the efficiency of the projection of shot and because of these two envelopes 91, 92 well separated from each other, one can independently give a high speed of shot projection and a high flow rate suction.
• one or more brushes 94 for contact with the wall of the pipe, arranged by surrounding the guide casing 91 and the confinement envelope 92 to maintain the confinement of the projected shot closer to the pipe wall.
• the contact brush or brushes 94 are further adapted to allow air to pass, thereby avoiding a suction effect of the bell 9 on the wall.
• Advantageously chosen soft brushes so that they are not hindered by the presence of obstacles on the wall to be stripped, such as assembly rivets or other ...
• each of the envelopes 91, 92 has a general shape of a truncated cone and share the same axis A, the truncated cone 91 being arranged at Inside the confining cone frustum 92.
• the shot peening nozzle 90 is arranged to project a shot of substantially conical shaped shot of axis coinciding with that of conical truncated cones.
• each of the envelopes 91, 92 also has a truncated cone shape.
• the guiding truncated cone 91 has an axis Al intersecting with that A2 of the containment truncated cone 92 and the guiding truncated cone is arranged partly inside the confining truncated cone.
• FIGS. 5A to 5C A third configuration is shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C.
• the containment envelope 92 has the shape of a cylinder with an axis A4 and the guiding envelope is in the form of a truncated cone of axis A3 secant with that A4 of the cylinder 92.
• the cylinder of containment 92 is arranged close to and offset from the truncated cone 91.
• the suction axis A4 is intended to be orthogonal to the pipe wall surface (C) when the device 9 is in the pickling position against the wall.
• FIG. 6 schematically shows an advantageous mounting variant of the bell 9 according to the invention on the support arm 8 of the robot 1.
• the bell 9 is movable in transverse displacement relative to the axis X 'of the support arm 8.
• grit and suction projection device 9 according to the invention, that is to say in its position shown in FIG.
• Step c1 the support arm 8 is then rotated around the longitudinal axis X 'of a value equal to at least 360 °.
• Step d / the support arm 8 is translated in the opposite direction to that of step a 1, so as to bring the device 9 according to the invention closer to the sub-frame, the inverse translation being carried out according to a step of approach of equal length. substantially to that of the stripped wall area.
• Step c1 steps c1 and d1 are repeated until the support arm 8 is brought back to its nearest position of the front subframe 4, that is to say in its position shown in FIG.
• Step 11 stop step b /, that is to say the projection of shot and suction.
• Steps al to f / are performed while the robot is in motion stop in the pipe.
• Step g / The robot is moved by translation in the pipe in the same direction as that of the support arm 8 according to step d1 and on a travel substantially equal to the spacing race of the support arm;
• Step l we repeat the set of steps al to f /.
• the device 9 of shot blasting and suction of the shot shot according to the invention can be implemented manually or on any other moving robot with arms -support that allows advantageous displacement of the device along six axes relative to the area to be stripped.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Manipulator (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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• 2016
  • 2016-06-13 FR FR1655405A patent/FR3052533B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2017
  • 2017-06-01 EP EP17727213.5A patent/EP3468747A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2017-06-01 WO PCT/EP2017/063391 patent/WO2017215947A1/fr unknown

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