RU2446983C2 - Underwater robotic complex - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: transport.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to drone robotic systems intended for high-accuracy research, photo-and-video shooting and profiling underwater long-distance surface. Proposed complex comprises hardware carrier, propulsion-and-steering system, power supply, navigation system, detection system, communication system, equalising ballast system, onboard computer, onboard/shore control unit, information measuring system, control system units and optional mechanical manipulator. Power supply is made up of switchgear arranged inside platform and connected to circuit of electrical conductors on one aide and to power supply cable, on opposite side. Onboard/shore control unit is made up of industrial computer communicated with underwater complex via underwater sealed power-and-data transfer cable consisting of optical fiber and power cable.

EFFECT: automated jobs.

11 cl

Description

The invention relates to the field of maintenance and periodic inspection of the surfaces of the underwater part of the hydraulic and oil and gas infrastructure, and in particular to remote-controlled underwater robotic systems that provide high-precision inspection, including using non-destructive testing methods, video and profiling of underwater extended, mainly vertically and horizontally located surfaces of objects , and can be used to automate inspection underwater processes s (with reference to geographical and local coordinates), namely, the exact determination of deformations, chips, formed cracks, caverns and other defects, both on the surface of the examined object and inside it, as well as inspection of ship hulls (investigation of the residual coating thickness, thickness metal sheet and its state and state of cathodic protection)

Known (RU patent 2387570) is a small-sized remote-controlled underwater vehicle containing a modular design frame, horizontal and vertical propulsion engines, durable airtight containers to accommodate the electronic part of the underwater vehicle, lights, surveillance and stationary video cameras, depth and temperature sensors, pressure compensators, buoyancy unit, mounted in the upper part of the underwater vehicle, a manipulation module including a manipulator equipped with a grip and a sealed drive, the manipulator being installed on the output shaft of the actuator, surface control unit comprising a control panel, a power source, a video display unit, and a communication cable connecting the underwater device to a surface module. A video camera is additionally installed on the other end of the output shaft of the manipulator drive so that its axis of sight is constantly directed to the grip center of the manipulator, the underwater vehicle is equipped with a removable perforated container for collecting samples mounted in the upper part of the underwater vehicle coaxially with its vertical axis, and the overview video camera is installed by bracket above the buoyancy unit in the diametrical plane of the underwater vehicle in its aft.

A disadvantage of the known apparatus can be recognized as its complexity and high cost, which prevents its widespread use. The lack of a chassis (wheeled or tracked) should also be considered as a disadvantage, which excludes the possibility of work on inclined, vertical and surfaces with a negative slope under water, as well as on horizontal surfaces on land (lack of amphibious machine qualities). A significant disadvantage is the impossibility of using vibrodynamic equipment for deep surface research.

Known (US patent 3559607) apparatus for detecting and automatically lifting a sunken ship, containing an underwater vehicle, equipped with an electronic unit and a winch with a cable, at the end of which is attached a buoy.

A disadvantage of the known apparatus is limited functionality: the apparatus cannot perform horizontal movement under water, and its vertical movement is not sufficient. A significant drawback is the lack of the possibility of a discrete path along the surface being examined while maintaining a constant distance from it, as well as the inability to determine small and medium defects in the area being examined.

Known (FR application 2046690) are underwater vehicles comprising a body with a buoyancy setting mechanism (buoy), in the cavity of which there is an electronic unit connected to one end of the signal cable located on the coil.

However, these devices cannot perform complex maneuvers, and their range is small. This significantly limits the possibility of using such devices as an underwater robot. In addition, the impossibility of conducting an examination along the required path can be attributed to the disadvantages.

The closest analogue of the developed device can be recognized ("Underwater technique of offshore oil fields." - L .: Sudostroenie, 1980, p.116-118) a remote-controlled inspection underwater vehicle containing a housing in which cavities are placed engines, a television camera, illuminators and an electronic reception unit control signals and transmission of television and measurement information. Power and control signals are supplied via cable, while its coil is placed on a movable carrier frame, immersed on the bottom soil.

The disadvantages of the known apparatus should be recognized limited maneuverability, insufficient radius of action, insufficiency of recorded information about the object of study, the ability to work only moving along the bottom. Also disadvantages include the lack of the ability to perform ultrasonic measurements due to the poorly selected type of housing and the principle of movement.

The technical problem solved by the proposed technical solution is to provide automation of underwater and near-surface operations in the field of inspection of objects for various damages, fatigue deformations and their defects, including non-destructive testing methods.

The technical result is to increase the safety of the use of river, sea, port hydraulic and oil and gas infrastructure due to the unambiguous, remote identification of defective areas of objects and their damage.

To achieve the specified technical result, it is proposed to use the developed underwater robotic complex. The developed robotic complex contains an equipment carrier, a propulsion-steering system (complex), an energy supply system, a navigation system (complex), a detection system, a communications system, a ballast-leveling system, an on-board computer system, a ship / shore control unit, and an information-measuring system, control unit, optional mechanical manipulator. The equipment carrier is made in the form of a hollow platform, on / in which almost all other elements of the complex are located. So, in particular, the propulsion-steering complex contains at least one mover mounted on the platform, the energy supply system is a switchgear located in the cavity of the platform and connected on one side to a network of electrical conductors that supply electrical power to the energy-consuming components of the complex and, on the other hand, to a sealed electrical power cable supplying power from the shore / ship. Ballast-leveling system is a set of structural elements involved in creating a buoyancy apparatus close to zero. The on-board computer system is located in the platform cavity and is a computer with a real-time operating system installed that provides control of all on-board systems that are part of the complex, as well as the collection, storage and transmission of collected information to an external control panel, while the elements of the on-board computer system are located in a sealed hydrostatic housing. The ship / shore control and power supply unit is a computer (machine system) that is switched to the underwater part of the complex via an energy-information underwater sealed cable, consisting of information and control optical fiber and power cable, and an electrical power system (high-voltage transformer / switching device / generator). The indicated block, depending on the operating conditions of the complex, can be located both on the shore and on board the craft. The system of means for detecting the device is a combination of beacons and beacon responders installed on the elements of the complex, the navigation complex is located in the cavity of the platform and is a set of tools for navigating and positioning the device.

To simplify the installation, transportation and operation of the complex, the platform can be made integral. The complex may contain at least two wheeled propulsors located on the sides of the platform and mounted on the axes of the engines located inside the hollow platform. The complex may also contain a screw propeller, which is an element including a rotor-stator motor, or an array of (2 × 2) screw propellers located in the upper part of the complex with the possibility of rotation around a transverse horizontal axis for controlling by trim and having a rotary cavitation nozzle to control the complex along the course, attached to the platform on vertically arranged brackets. In a preferred embodiment, the structural elements of the ballast-leveling system are configured to control their buoyancy. This allows you to use the complex in water with different densities, which ensures the use of the complex in both sea and river water and other liquids. The on-board industrial computer can be connected to the power supply system through the specified switchgear. However, in some implementations, it can be connected to an autonomous on-board power supply system, which will ensure its operation in case the complex is disconnected from external power. The combination of beacons and responder beacons comprises at least a sonar transponder installed in the upper part of the structure, as well as a light-pulse beacon installed in the rear of the structure. The navigation system used includes at least a three-component ferromagnetic compass integrated with a fiber optic gyrocompass, as well as positioning means along linear coordinates. The communication system used is at least a GPS / GLONASS antenna, a sonar receiving antenna with an ultrashort base and a transponder beacon, as well as a radio modem and satellite modem. The information-measuring complex used includes at least non-destructive testing means, laser systems and television systems. However, this list does not limit the possible composition of the information-measuring complex.

The structural elements are discussed in more detail below.

The platform is a rigid, preferably a composite body element, bearing all other structural nodes. The platform is hollow, assembled from several parts for the possibility of the location of other elements in its internal part.

The propulsion and steering complex is represented by two types of propulsors. Wheel movers are located two on each side of the platform and are attached using shafts (axes of rotation) to the engines located inside the hollow platform. The second type of propulsion is screw. It is located in the upper part of the structure in a cavitation fixed nozzle attached to the platform on vertically arranged brackets to increase the distance between the screw plane and the plane of the upper part of the platform. The mover itself is the engine (that is, the cavitation nozzle plays the role of a stator). This rotor is a stator motor (such as RIM-Driven). The device may have several (preferably three) engines in the rear of the platform, located at an angle to each other, for maneuvering when approaching the point in underwater mode. Thanks to this, the complex has the ability to maneuver not only on a solid surface, but also in the aquatic environment, being controlled in space by 6 coordinates.

The energy supply system is a switchgear (of the “crab” type) and a developed network of conductors that feeds all systems and diverges from it. "Crab" is located in the cavity of the carrier platform, in the rear of it. The input element of the “crab” is an energy control submarine cable that connects to the rear of the platform.

Ballast-leveling system is a set of structural elements involved in creating a buoyancy apparatus close to zero. The main elements of the system are parts from the syntax of a streamlined shape, located in the upper part of the platform and inside its cavity. Indirectly, the elements can be attributed to the propulsive wheels having positive buoyancy, possibly adjustable.

The on-board computer system (VBS) is located in the cavity of the carrier platform in a sturdy hydrostatic spherical sealed enclosure and, in fact, is a single-board industrial computer with a real-time operating system and on-board software, where the program for controlling motion and automatic action robot. VBS power supply is provided from the distributor (“crab”). In turn, the power supply and external control signals are supplied to the on-board distributor (“crab”) by means of an energy-information cable connected to the power supply and external control unit of shore or ship based. With VBS, all systems are controlled through tight control connections, namely: information-measuring complex, propulsion system, lighting, manipulator, etc., in addition, VBS provides for the collection, storage and transmission of collected information to an external control panel. For heat removal, the system is equipped with a developed radiator of a large surface area in contact with the water mass.

The ship / shore control unit is connected to the underwater part of the system through the energy-information underwater sealed cable, which consists of two components: information-control optical fiber and power cable. The information-control optical fiber is connected to the control part of the onshore control unit (control unit) - an industrial computer with a real-time operating system (RTOS) and the provided software for exchanging collected information, providing feedback to the machine-operator, displaying current information and collecting information from information- measuring complex. The power cable is connected to the power part of the onshore control unit - the supply transformer.

The set of device detection tools is a system of beacons and responder beacons: in the upper part of the structure, a sonar transponder beacon, a light-pulse beacon and a radio beacon are rigidly fixed. Lighthouses are used for emergency operations in conditions of poor visibility and search for the device in emergency situations.

The navigation complex is located in the cavity of the device and is a set of tools for navigating and positioning the device. A three-component ferromagnetic compass, combined with a fiber-optic gyrocompass, allows you to obtain information about the position of the device at the Euler angles. Positioning by linear coordinates is carried out inertia thanks to the system of time reckoning sensors and the Doppler (or turntable) lag, as well as using the coordinate grid specified by GPS / GLONASS, or using the underwater navigation system. Therefore, the navigation complex is closely connected and depends on the complex of communications.

The communications facility is a GPS / GLONASS antenna, a sonar receiving antenna with an ultrashort base and a transponder beacon, as well as a radio modem and satellite modem.

These devices are located on the cover of the carrier platform on the mid-plane of the apparatus.

The information-measuring complex is the main information system of the device. It contains at least:

- means of NDT (non-destructive testing),

- acoustic systems,

- black and white echo sounder,

- two-frequency and color echo sounders (interferometer),

- fixed monitoring tools,

- GPS

- Sledgehammer Schmidt,

- magnetic armature locator,

- ultrasonic system for concrete elements,

- ultrasonic system for determining the thickness of the metal,

- underwater partial magnetic testing system (UWMT),

- radiographic systems (gamma and x-rays),

- systems of vibrodynamic research,

- inspection tools

- laser systems,

- stereo television systems,

- sonar systems,

- photo, video systems,

- samplers,

- cathodic protection potential analysis system,

- other systems on demand.

The ultrasound examination sensors are located in an array in the interwheel space or on an additional remote platform on the clamping mechanism for close contact with the surface during discrete movement of the device (or a roller-shaped array of sensors for permanent non-discrete movement of the device).

Sensors can be located on an additional manipulator device on a rotary basis (located on the brackets of the cavitation nozzle of the screw propeller) for working in hard-to-reach areas when examining geometrically complex sections of the investigated surface of the underwater and surface infrastructure.

The sensitivity of the on-board measuring sensors should be sufficient for detecting voids in concrete with a volume of the order of at least 30 cm ³ at depths up to 300 mm or extended hollow defects with a diameter of 15-20 mm at depths up to 500 mm.

A distinctive feature of the device is its amphibiousness. In land mode, the device can examine horizontal and inclined (up to a certain angle) surfaces.

The complex may additionally contain a survey system of extended and areal underwater sections of infrastructure objects containing a computing device located on board a moving object configured to connect to information transmission channels. This makes it possible to determine anomalies and defects remotely from the operator’s panel, as well as systematically and completely examine them.

The survey complex may also additionally contain a contact-cleaning system such as a circular brush and a non-contact cavitation hydraulic gun, as well as mechanical processing means: a circular saw, grinding wheel and other known mechanical or electromechanical devices.

The proposed system differs from the ones known primarily for the variant of execution of the main marching and clamping propulsion devices (the possibility of realizing a wheeled and caterpillar track, as well as with a screw or electromagnetic contactless clamp).

The proposed survey system works as follows. The mobile platform is equipped with two types of propulsion devices, providing its movement in space along three degrees of freedom when moving along a plane. The forward forward movement of the platform and the reverse movement of the measuring complex, as well as the movement of the platform to the sides and its rotation around its own vertical axis along the course angle, are provided by wheel-type propellers paired with each other (or caterpillar tracks, supported, in addition to the driving star wheel, by driven supporting rollers on a floating mount, to ensure a smooth ride and the possibility of bending around irregularities) made of hard or elastic with an awl-shaped notch (depending on the degree of fouling biota surface), resistant to corrosion and abrasion of the material. Movers participate in the creation of buoyancy and are an important structural element. Optionally, they have anti-skid spikes to create a good grip on a slippery, overgrown biota surface. The moment for each of the propulsors is transmitted from the sealed motor blocks by means of a magnetic clutch. Depending on the readings of gyroscopic sensors, hydraulic or electromechanical drives change the distance from the bottom of the platform to the surface of the base on which the platform moves, in order to increase the throughput of the entire device. The screw type propeller, based on the use of a RIM-Driven type motor (stator-rotary motor) and located in the center of the housing, provides the positioning of the system according to the third degree of freedom along its own vertical axis, in fact, pressing it to the surface under study, by creating a stop P, ejected by a jet of sea water through nozzles. Thus, the complex, being under water, has the ability to move along various non-metallic surfaces, including vertical and inclined, along various trajectories (for example, tacks), progressively change direction by 90 degrees without making a turn, turn around in place and overcome arising on obstacle paths. When moving not on the surface, but in the water column (in the exit mode to the survey point), the device can be controlled by maneuvering along 6 coordinates, using installed onboard propulsors for this. On board the platform are also located in its lower part an information-measuring complex and a control system unit in a robust housing.

The structure of the on-board information-measuring complex includes, as noted earlier, on-board measuring systems used on deep-sea autonomous and controllable devices manufactured by the industry:

- high-resolution color photosystem;

- high-resolution color video system;

- LED lamps to illuminate the workspace;

- acoustic ultrasound examination system;

- spatial laser inspection system;

- other typical and original systems

- vibro-acoustic examination system

- radiation inspection system

- other non-destructive testing systems

- laser television system

- other survey systems specified above

In addition to these systems, the following are also installed on the light inertialess manipulator:

- non-destructive testing system sensors for analyzing hard-to-reach surfaces (bottom part of the hydraulic infrastructure, base, contact zone with the bottom);

- it is possible to place mechanical means for carrying out technical work (circular saws, grippers, grinding wheels and other well-known mechanical devices) to perform complex underwater tasks without involving scuba divers.

- other types and types of systems, depending on the technical task

Laser sensors can be located on an additional remote frame for preliminary measurement of the cleaned surface in order to prepare an initiating map of the surface to be examined (base maps, that is, the base on which current surface surveys are superimposed, which allow analyzing changes in the surface under study).

The system provides for the function of sampling at the site of the survey and the function of testing structures. These devices are placed on the system case and / or on an optional mechanical manipulator.

Acoustic ultrasonic examination system is an array of ultrasonic underwater sensors located independently from each other on a movable clamping base (lobed or spring) to ensure the functioning of the complex in conditions of complex geometry of the examined surface.

The movable elastic independent base of the sensors ensures tight contact of the protected, non-abrasive material, sensors with the surface, the array of which is located in a niche between the spaced wheelbase for the possibility of passing oncoming obstacles and bumps.

The option is to provide for the replacement or addition of measuring on-board equipment and the placement on the platform of contact and non-contact cleaning equipment of a surface such as a circular brush and a cavitation water gun, made in a single unit with its own drive and gear transmission for the possibility of examining a contaminated (organic matter overgrown, silted) object with its preliminary by cleaning. The entire underwater moving part of the robotic complex has zero (neutral) buoyancy by using syntactics to regulate it.

The platform is controlled by the speed vector by the operator from the shore / ship control unit, which is a computer system with a real-time operating system with connected system controls (trackball, joystick). Turning on / off various modes and systems, as well as setting tasks in automatic mode, is carried out from the keyboard. The shore / ship unit displays information on the modes of the complex, energy consumption, state of the blocks and information from the information-measuring complex. This information is a continuous video image from underwater cameras with the ability to visualize profilograms and ultrasound images showing defects, visualization of metadata from laser systems. This information can be superimposed in real time on a preloaded map of an extended underwater object. Saving, archiving and documenting takes place automatically in the block.

All transmission of control signals from the coastal / shipboard control unit and information from the mobile platform in full-duplex mode is carried out by means of a thin optical fiber, which is part of a sealed high-voltage cable of neutral buoyancy, whose function is to supply the underwater part of the complex from the coastal power supply unit. The power supply is a step-down / step-up transformer depending on the specific application of the complex (power supply from the port system / ship system, use of an external diesel generator, etc.). Neutral buoyancy of the cable is provided by buoyancy elements located on the cable with a frequency of several meters or using appropriate braiding materials.

Without the use of an additionally deployable underwater navigation system, the complex’s navigation system is inertial. Coordinates are determined by obtaining information about the number of revolutions of propulsors, as well as information from a three-component ferromagnetic compass and gyroscopes located in the platform control unit. One of the conditions for accurate positioning is the constant contact of the wheel type propellers with the surface. In the case of external sources of information being placed: GLONASS / GPS signal receivers and signals from differential correction sources, as well as transmitters generating a signal for propagation in the underwater space at the required frequencies, it is possible to level the on-going integration error of the inertial navigation system of the complex, and the exact determination of location coordinates the underwater movable platform of the measuring complex and surveying the sections of the surface under investigation is determined by the specialized hydrochloric program installed on the ship / shore computationally complex.

Using the coastal / ship control unit, the operator navigates a moving underwater platform along the area of interest of the object under study, receiving the necessary visual information on the display.

It is possible to install an additional tank with a retractor-screw system in the center of the platform to ensure filtration and further flow of water through a system of coarse and / or fine filters.

Work can be performed in manual, automated and fully automatic mode (when examining large areas).

Using the proposed system allows you to uniquely determine the location of problem areas of the underwater part of the infrastructure, carefully examine it using visual, laser, acoustic and other means and clean the surface without using diving calculations with a risk to life and health.

Fields of application of the invention: underwater parts of offshore and river facilities onshore, hydrotechnical and oil and gas field infrastructure of coastal and sea-based, including: ship hulls, mooring walls, dams, pipelines, underwater parts of hulls of floating semi-submersible drilling rigs and submersible oil and gas production platforms, etc.

Claims (11)

1. An underwater robotic complex, characterized in that it contains an equipment carrier, a propulsion-steering system, an energy supply system, a navigation system, a detection system, a communications system, a ballast-leveling system, an onboard computer system, a ship / shore control unit, information a measuring system, a control system unit and an optional mechanical manipulator, while the equipment carrier is made in the form of a hollow platform, the propulsion and steering system contains At least one mover mounted on the platform, the energy supply system is a switchgear located in the cavity of the platform and connected on one side to a network of electrical conductors, and on the other hand to a power supply cable, the ballast-leveling system is a set of structural elements, participating in the creation of a buoyancy apparatus close to zero, the on-board computer system is located in the cavity of the platform and is the first industrial a computer with an installed operating system that provides control of all the systems included in the complex, as well as the collection, storage and transmission of collected information to an external control panel, the ship / shore control unit is the second industrial computer connected to the underwater part of the complex via an energy-informational underwater sealed cable consisting of information and control optical fiber and power cable, the system of means of detecting the device is a combination beacons and beacon transponders installed on the complex elements, the navigation system is placed in the cavity and the platform is a set of tools for navigation and positioning apparatus. 2. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that the platform is made integral. 3. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains at least two wheeled propulsors located on the sides of the platform and mounted on the axes of the engines located inside the hollow platform. 4. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains a screw propeller, which is an element of a rotor-stator engine or an array of screw propellers located in the upper part of the complex with the possibility of rotation around a transverse horizontal axis for the possibility of controlling by trim and having a rotary a cavitation nozzle for controlling the system on the course, attached to the platform on vertically arranged brackets. 5. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that the structural elements of the ballast-leveling system are made with the possibility of regulating their buoyancy. 6. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that the first industrial computer is connected to the energy supply system through the specified switchgear. 7. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that the first industrial computer is connected to an autonomous energy supply system. 8. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that the set of beacons and responder beacons comprises at least a sonar transponder installed in the upper part of the structure, as well as a light-pulse beacon installed in the rear of the structure. 9. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that the navigation complex contains at least a three-component ferromagnetic compass integrated with a fiber optic gyrocompass, as well as positioning means in coordinates. 10. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication system is at least a GPS / GLOHACC antenna, a hydroacoustic receiving antenna with an ultrashort base and a transponder beacon. 11. The complex according to claim 1, characterized in that the information-measuring system includes at least non-destructive testing, laser systems and television systems.