Crawler robot and method for surface sealing of micro-cracks in concrete bridge piers underwater

Abstract

This invention discloses a tracked robot and method for sealing micro-cracks on underwater concrete bridge piers. It is used for sealing cracks less than 0.15 mm wide on underwater piers. The robot includes a main body, a tracked crawler, an underwater robotic arm, an electric lifting platform, working tools, a tool compartment, a multi-beam imaging sonar, a binocular camera lighting system, and a liftable gimbal camera. The robot uses the tracked crawler as its mobile chassis, enabling stable operation in underwater environments; the robotic arm is mounted on the electric lifting platform, allowing for wide-area operations. After rinsing and cleaning the surface of the underwater pier, the robot changes to an adhesive application tool to visually inspect the cracks. After determining the crack width and location, it seals the crack surface. This maintenance robot can perform crack repair in high-speed water flow environments, achieving the goal of sealing cracks on the surface of underwater concrete bridge piers, and can be used for the maintenance of underwater concrete bridge piers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of underwater maintenance robot technology, specifically to a robot and method for sealing the surface of tiny cracks in underwater piers of concrete bridges. Background Technology

[0002] With the continuous improvement of my country's transportation infrastructure, the safety and durability of bridges have received increasing attention. Bridge collapses and fractures can cause serious damage. In recent years, hydrological factors have become the primary cause of bridge collapse and failure. Based on past engineering cases, most underwater structural defects in bridges often begin with a tiny crack. Therefore, research on key technologies for repairing cracks in underwater bridge piers is of great significance for improving bridge safety and durability, and for promoting the development of my country's transportation infrastructure.

[0003] Traditional underwater bridge pier maintenance is mainly done manually, which has problems such as high risk, poor accuracy, and low efficiency: (1) The underwater environment is complex and unpredictable, and manual diving operations are risky; (2) The fast underwater current and low visibility seriously affect the accuracy of the operators; (3) Manual underwater operations are limited by diving time, and it may be necessary to dive multiple times to complete one underwater maintenance, which reduces the efficiency of the operation. Developing instruments and equipment with underwater maintenance functions is a necessary way to overcome the problems of manual underwater maintenance. Underwater robots can replace manual underwater operations, but the current underwater robots for bridges are mainly remotely operated vehicles for inspection and basically do not have maintenance capabilities. In high-speed water flow environments, submersibles cannot operate stably, while tracked robots can overcome the disturbance of high-speed water flow and operate stably, and are equipped with working tools to repair small cracks.

[0004] In summary, there are currently no underwater robots, either domestically or internationally, that can repair micro-cracks in underwater piers of concrete bridges. Therefore, there is a need for a tracked robot that can replace manual crack repair and stably operate in high-speed water flow environments to seal micro-cracks on the surface of underwater piers of concrete bridges. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention proposes a tracked robot and method for sealing the surface of tiny cracks in underwater piers of concrete bridges.

[0006] The technical solution of this invention is:

[0007] A tracked robot for sealing micro-cracks on underwater piers of concrete bridges is used for sealing cracks less than 0.15 mm wide on underwater piers in concrete bridge engineering. Its features include: a main body, a multi-beam imaging sonar, an underwater working robotic arm, an electric lifting platform, an extruder, a binocular camera lighting system, a liftable gimbal camera, a tool compartment, a control box, a tracked crawler, and a servo power system. The tracked crawler is mounted on both sides of the main body, enabling stable crawling on the underwater surface of the concrete bridge and overcoming disturbances caused by high-speed water flow. The servo power system is connected to the drive wheel of the tracked crawler via an adapter shaft, providing power for underwater crawling. The servo power system includes a wiring cover, a brushless motor, a reducer, an output shaft, and a waterproof sleeve for the motor. The tracked crawler includes a drive wheel, support rollers, tracks, a tensioning device, and guide wheels. The robot is equipped with three sets of multibeam imaging sonars located at the lower front of the robot body and on the left and right sides of the control box, respectively, to observe the surrounding environment of the robot and determine the distance between the robot body and the underwater pier of the concrete bridge.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present invention, the binocular camera lighting system includes a hinge and a binocular camera and a first lighting system disposed above the hinge. The binocular camera is mounted on the end joint of the underwater working robot via the hinge. The binocular camera is used to observe the working status of the underwater working robot and to provide feedback on the location information of the underwater pier crack. The first lighting system provides lighting for the working environment. The liftable gimbal camera includes a telescopic rod and a gimbal disposed on the upper end of the telescopic rod. The gimbal is mounted directly behind the main body of the robot via the telescopic rod and is used to observe the status of the main body of the robot and the underwater working robot. The telescopic rod can extend and retract over a wide range of heights to provide vision and lighting for the underwater working robot at any height. The gimbal, equipped with three motors, can rotate the second lighting system and the camera in any posture.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, the underwater robotic arm is mounted on an electric lifting platform, which can raise and lower the height of the underwater robotic arm chassis to achieve a wide range of operations; the tool compartment is located at the rear of the electric lifting platform, and the tool compartment contains washing and cleaning tools; the end of the underwater robotic arm is equipped with a gripper, which can grab the tools in the tool compartment. The extruder in the tools can be used for applying adhesive to micro-cracks. The specific structure of the extruder includes fixing the glue tube through a glue tube holder, which can realize the fixing and quick replacement of the glue tube; the lead screw shaft and the guide shaft are connected to the push rod nut seat; the underwater servo drives the guide shaft through the fixed shaft flange to drive the movement of the push rod nut seat; and the underwater high-definition camera is located above the glue tube for locating cracks in the underwater piers of concrete bridges.

[0010] The inspection method for a tracked robot used for sealing micro-cracks on the surface of underwater piers of concrete bridges includes the following steps:

[0011] S1. The operator sets up a work platform on the shore and remotely activates the servo power system, multi-beam imaging sonar, binocular camera lighting system and liftable gimbal camera via cable. The robot is then remotely crawled to a suitable position near the underwater pier of the concrete bridge using the image information.

[0012] S2. After the robot reaches the working range of the underwater robotic arm, it prepares to carry out the rinsing task. The robot arm is controlled to grab the rinsing tools from the tool compartment, and the position and posture of the underwater robotic arm are controlled to rinse the underwater piers of the bridge. After completing the rinsing operation in the current work space, the electric lifting platform is controlled to raise the underwater robotic arm to continue the rinsing operation. The rinsing operation is repeated until the electric lifting platform reaches its maximum stroke. The rinsing task of the underwater piers of the concrete bridge is completed. The electric lifting platform is controlled to return to the initial position, and the underwater robotic arm puts the rinsing tools back into the tool compartment.

[0013] S3. After the rinsing operation is completed, the underwater robotic arm grabs the cleaning tool from the tool magazine and controls the underwater robotic arm to clean the underwater piers of the bridge in a suitable position, posture and force; control the electric lifting platform and the underwater robotic arm to complete the grinding operation according to the same steps in S2 until the electric lifting platform reaches its maximum stroke; after the grinding operation is completed, restore the electric lifting platform to the initial position, put the cleaning tool back into the tool magazine and replace the extruder;

[0014] S4. After replacing the extruder, begin inspection and adhesive application. The underwater robotic arm brings the extruder close to the underwater pier of the concrete bridge, using an underwater high-definition camera and a binocular camera for visual inspection. Simultaneously, the height and angle of the telescopic camera are adjusted via a telescopic rod and gimbal to provide suitable visual conditions and lighting. The underwater robotic arm controls the extruder to move slowly. When a small crack is detected in the underwater concrete bridge, the position of the adhesive cartridge is adjusted to align with the crack, and the underwater servo motor is controlled to begin adhesive application. When adhesive is observed being extruded, the underwater robotic arm is controlled to move the end of the cartridge along the crack. After completing the adhesive application, the underwater robotic arm continues to inspect other locations. After completing the inspection within the current workspace, the electric lifting platform is controlled to change the working height of the underwater robotic arm to continue the inspection and adhesive application for cracks in the underwater pier of the bridge. The above process is repeated until the electric lifting platform reaches its maximum stroke.

[0015] After completing the inspection and adhesive application for microcracks in the underwater piers of the concrete bridge (S5), restore the electric lifting platform to its initial position and return the extruder to the tool compartment. Control the tracked crawler to crawl to other positions and repeat steps S2, S3, and S4. After completing the inspection and sealing of microcracks on all areas of the underwater pier surface of the concrete bridge, control the tracked crawler to crawl to the water surface.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0017] This invention relates to a tracked robot and method for sealing micro-cracks on the surface of underwater concrete bridge piers. The robot enables the cleaning of underwater concrete bridge piers and the application of adhesive to the micro-cracks using an extruder. The robot can repair micro-cracks in underwater concrete bridge piers under high-speed water flow conditions, effectively improving the efficiency of handling such cracks. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the tracked robot of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the tracked robot's operation scenario according to the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the extruder mechanical structure of the tracked robot of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the binocular camera illumination system for the tracked robot of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the liftable gimbal camera of the tracked robot of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the tool bay of the tracked robot of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the servo power system of the tracked robot of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the tracked crawler system of the tracked robot of the present invention;

[0026] In the diagram: 1. Fuselage; 2. Multibeam imaging sonar; 3. Underwater robotic arm; 4. Electric lifting platform; 5. Extruder; 51. Glue tube; 52. High-definition camera; 53. Glue tube holder; 54. Lead screw; 55. Guide shaft; 56. Push rod nut seat; 57. Fixed shaft flange; 58. Underwater servo motor; 6. Binocular camera lighting system; 61. Binocular camera; 62. First lighting system; 7. Liftable gimbal camera; 71. Telescopic mast; 72. Gimbal; 73. Second lighting system; 74. 8. Camera; 9. Tool compartment; 10. Washing tools; 11. Cleaning tools; 12. Control box; 13. Tracked crawler; 14. Drive wheel; 15. Track roller; 16. Track; 17. Tensioning device; 18. Guide wheel; 19. Servo power system; 10. Wiring cover; 10. Brushless motor; 11. Reducer; 12. Output shaft; 13. Motor waterproof sleeve; 14. Cracks in underwater piers of concrete bridges; 15. Underwater piers of concrete bridges; 16. Water surface. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] like Figures 1 to 7 As shown, this invention provides a tracked robot for sealing the surface of tiny cracks in underwater piers of concrete bridges. The robot includes a main body 1, a multi-beam imaging sonar 2, an underwater robotic arm 3, an electric lifting platform 4, an extruder 5, a binocular camera lighting system 6, a liftable gimbal camera 7, a tool compartment 8, a control box 9, a tracked crawler 10, and a servo power system 11. The tracked crawler 10 is mounted on both sides of the main body 1, enabling stable crawling on the underwater surface of the concrete bridge and overcoming disturbances caused by high-speed water flow. The servo power system 11 is connected to the drive wheel 101 of the tracked crawler 10 via an adapter shaft, providing power for underwater crawling. The servo power system 11 includes a wiring cover 111, a brushless motor 112, a reducer 113, an output shaft 114, and a waterproof motor sleeve 115. The tracked crawler 10 includes a drive wheel 101, support rollers 102, tracks 103, a tensioning device 104, and guide wheels 105. The robot is equipped with three sets of multibeam imaging sonar 2, located at the lower front of the robot body 1 and to the left and right of the control box 9, respectively, to observe the surrounding environment of the robot and determine the distance between the robot body 1 and the underwater pier 13 of the concrete bridge.

[0029] In this embodiment, the binocular camera lighting system 6 includes a hinge 63 and a binocular camera 61 and a first lighting system 62 disposed above the hinge 63. It is mounted to the end joint of the underwater working robot arm 3 via the hinge 63. The binocular camera 61 is used to observe the working status of the underwater working robot arm 3 and to provide feedback on the location information of the crack 12 in the underwater pier of the concrete bridge. The first lighting system 62 provides lighting for the working environment. The liftable gimbal camera 7 includes a telescopic rod 71 and a gimbal 72 disposed on the upper end of the telescopic rod 71. It is mounted directly behind the main body 1 via the telescopic rod 71 and is used to observe the status of the main body 1 and the underwater working robot arm 3. The telescopic rod 71 can achieve a wide range of height extension and retraction to provide vision and lighting for the underwater working robot arm 3 at any height. The gimbal 72, equipped with three motors, can achieve the rotation of the second lighting system 73 and the camera 74 in any posture.

[0030] In this embodiment, the underwater robotic arm 3 is mounted on the electric lifting platform 4, which can raise and lower the chassis height of the underwater robotic arm 3 to achieve a wide range of operations; the tool compartment 8 is located behind the electric lifting platform 4, and the tool compartment 8 is equipped with a rinsing tool 81 and a cleaning tool 82; the underwater robotic arm 3 is equipped with a gripper at the end, which can grab the operating tools in the tool compartment 8. The extruder 5 in the operating tools can be used for applying glue to small cracks. The specific structure of the extruder includes fixing the glue tube 51 through the glue tube holder 53, which can realize the fixing and quick replacement of the glue tube 51; the lead screw shaft 54 ​​and the guide shaft (55) are connected to the push rod nut seat 56; the underwater servo motor 58 drives the guide shaft 55 to drive the push rod nut seat through the fixed shaft flange 57; the underwater high-definition camera 52 is located above the glue tube 51 and is used to locate the crack 12 of the underwater pier column of the concrete bridge.

[0031] The inspection method for a tracked robot used for sealing micro-cracks on the surface of underwater piers of concrete bridges includes the following steps:

[0032] S1. The operator sets up a work platform on the shore and remotely activates the servo power system 11, multi-beam imaging sonar 2, binocular camera lighting system 6, and liftable gimbal camera 7 via cable. The robot is then remotely controlled to crawl to a suitable position near the underwater pier 13 of the concrete bridge via image information.

[0033] S2. After the robot reaches the working range of the underwater robotic arm 3, it prepares to carry out the rinsing task. The robot is controlled to grab the rinsing tool 81 from the tool compartment 8, and the position and posture of the underwater robotic arm 3 are controlled to rinse the underwater piers of the bridge. After completing the rinsing operation in the current working space, the electric lifting platform 4 is controlled to raise the underwater robotic arm 3 to continue the rinsing operation. The rinsing operation is repeated until the electric lifting platform 4 reaches its maximum stroke. The rinsing task of the underwater piers of the concrete bridge is completed. The electric lifting platform 4 is controlled to return to the initial position, and the underwater robotic arm 3 puts the rinsing tool 81 back into the tool compartment 8.

[0034] S3. After the rinsing operation is completed, the underwater robotic arm 3 grabs the cleaning tool 82 from the tool compartment 8 and controls the underwater robotic arm 3 to clean the underwater piers of the bridge in a suitable position, posture and force; the same steps as in S2 are followed to control the electric lifting platform 4 and the underwater robotic arm 3 to complete the grinding operation until the electric lifting platform 4 reaches its maximum stroke; after the grinding operation is completed, the electric lifting platform 4 is restored to its initial position, the cleaning tool 82 is put back into the tool compartment 8 and the extruder 5 is replaced;

[0035] S4. After replacing the extruder 5, the inspection and adhesive application work begins. The underwater robotic arm 3 brings the extruder 5 close to the underwater pier of the concrete bridge and performs visual inspection using an underwater high-definition camera 52 and a binocular camera 61. Simultaneously, the height and angle of the adjustable gimbal camera 7 are adjusted via the telescopic rod 71 and the gimbal 72 to provide suitable visual conditions and lighting. The underwater robotic arm 3 controls the extruder 5 to move slowly. When a small underwater crack in the concrete bridge is detected, the position of the glue cylinder 51 is adjusted to align with the crack, and the underwater servo motor 58 is controlled to begin the adhesive application work. When glue is observed being extruded, the underwater robotic arm 3 is controlled to move the end of the glue cylinder 51 along the crack direction. After completing the adhesive application work, the underwater robotic arm 3 continues to inspect other locations. After completing the inspection within the current workspace, the electric lifting platform 4 is controlled to change the working height of the underwater robotic arm 3 to continue the inspection and adhesive application work for the underwater pier cracks. The above process is repeated until the electric lifting platform 4 reaches its maximum stroke.

[0036] After completing the inspection and adhesive application for microcracks in the underwater piers of the concrete bridge (S5), restore the electric lifting platform 4 to its initial position and return the extruder 5 to the tool compartment 8. Control the tracked crawler 10 to crawl to other positions and repeat steps S2, S3, and S4. After completing the inspection and sealing of microcracks on all areas of the surface of the underwater piers of the concrete bridge, control the tracked crawler 10 to crawl to the water surface.

[0037] The technical means disclosed in this invention are not limited to those disclosed in the above embodiments, but also include technical solutions composed of any combination of the above technical features. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various improvements and modifications without departing from the principles of this invention, and these improvements and modifications are also considered within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. A tracked robot for sealing micro-cracks on the surface of underwater piers of concrete bridges, characterized in that: The system includes a fuselage (1), a multibeam imaging sonar (2), an underwater robotic arm (3), an electric lifting platform (4), an extruder (5), a binocular camera lighting system (6), a liftable gimbal camera (7), a tool compartment (8), a control box (9), a tracked crawler (10), and a servo power system (11). The tracked crawler (10) is installed on both sides of the fuselage (1) to stably crawl on the bottom of the concrete bridge and overcome the disturbance caused by the high-speed water flow to the fuselage (1). The servo power system (11) is connected to the drive wheel (101) of the tracked crawler (10) through an adapter shaft to provide underwater crawling. The power system (11) includes a wiring cover (111), a brushless motor (112), a reducer (113), an output shaft (114), and a motor waterproof sleeve (115); the tracked crawler (10) includes a drive wheel (101), a support wheel (102), a track (103), a tensioning device (104), and a guide wheel (105); the robot is equipped with three sets of multibeam imaging sonar (2) located at the front and lower part of the body (1) and the left and right sides of the control box (9), respectively, for observing the environmental conditions around the robot and determining the distance between the body (1) and the underwater pier (13) of the concrete bridge; The binocular camera lighting system (6) includes a hinge (63) and a binocular camera (61) and a first lighting system (62) set above the hinge (63). It is installed on the end joint of the underwater working robot (3) through the hinge (63). The binocular camera (61) is used to observe the working status of the underwater working robot (3) and to provide feedback on the location information of the underwater pier crack (12). The first lighting system (62) provides lighting for the working environment. The liftable gimbal camera (7) includes a telescopic rod (71) and a gimbal (72) set on the upper end of the telescopic rod (71). It is installed on the rear of the fuselage body (1) through the telescopic rod (71) and is used to observe the status of the fuselage body (1) and the underwater working robot (3). The telescopic rod (71) can achieve a wide range of height extension and extension to provide vision and lighting for the underwater working robot (3) to work at any height. The gimbal (72) is equipped with three motors to realize the rotation of the second lighting system (73) and the camera (74) in any posture. The underwater robotic arm (3) is mounted on the electric lifting platform (4), which can raise and lower the chassis of the underwater robotic arm (3) to achieve a wide range of operations; the tool compartment (8) is located behind the electric lifting platform (4), and the tool compartment (8) is equipped with a rinsing tool (81) and a cleaning tool (82); the underwater robotic arm (3) is equipped with a gripper at the end, which can grab the operating tools in the tool compartment (8); the extruder (5) in the operating tools can be used for applying glue to small cracks. The extruder includes a glue tube (51) fixed by a glue tube holder (53), which can realize the fixing and quick replacement of the glue tube (51). The lead screw shaft (54) and the guide shaft (55) are connected to the push rod nut seat (56). The underwater servo motor (58) drives the guide shaft (55) through the fixed shaft flange (57) to drive the movement of the push rod nut seat. The underwater high-definition camera (52) is located above the glue tube (51) and is used to locate the cracks (12) of the underwater pier column of the concrete bridge.

2. The method for operating a tracked robot for sealing micro-cracks on the surface of underwater piers of concrete bridges according to claim 1, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: S1. The operator sets up a work platform on the shore and remotely activates the servo power system (11), multi-beam image sonar (2), binocular camera lighting system (6), and liftable gimbal camera (7) via cable. The robot is then remotely controlled to crawl to a suitable position near the underwater pier (13) of the concrete bridge via image information. S2. After the robot reaches the working range of the underwater working robot arm (3), it prepares to carry out the rinsing task; it controls the robot arm to grab the rinsing tool (81) from the tool compartment (8), and controls the position and posture of the underwater working robot arm (3) to rinse the underwater pier of the bridge; after completing the rinsing operation in the current working space, it controls the electric lifting platform (4) to raise the underwater working robot arm (3) to continue the rinsing operation; it repeats the rinsing operation until the electric lifting platform (4) reaches the maximum stroke, the underwater pier of the concrete bridge is rinsed, and the electric lifting platform (4) is controlled to return to the initial position, and the underwater working robot arm (3) puts the rinsing tool (81) back into the tool compartment (8); S3. After the rinsing operation is completed, the underwater robotic arm (3) grabs the cleaning tool (82) from the tool compartment (8) and controls the underwater robotic arm (3) to clean the underwater piers of the bridge in a suitable position, posture and force; control the electric lifting platform (4) and the underwater robotic arm (3) to complete the grinding operation according to the same steps in S2 until the electric lifting platform (4) reaches the maximum stroke; after the grinding operation is completed, restore the electric lifting platform (4) to the initial position, put the cleaning tool (82) back into the tool compartment (8) and replace the extruder (5); S4. After replacing the extruder (5), the inspection and adhesive application work begins; the underwater robotic arm (3) brings the extruder (5) close to the underwater pier of the concrete bridge and performs visual inspection through the underwater high-definition camera (52) and binocular camera (61); at the same time, the liftable gimbal camera (7) adjusts the height and angle through the telescopic rod (71) and gimbal (72) to provide suitable visual conditions and lighting; the underwater robotic arm (3) controls the extruder (5) to move slowly, and when a small underwater crack in the concrete bridge is detected, the position of the adhesive cartridge (51) is adjusted. Align the device with the crack and control the underwater servo motor (58) to start the glue application operation. When glue is observed to be squeezed out, control the underwater working robot (3) to move the end of the glue tube (51) along the crack direction. After the glue application operation is completed, continue to control the underwater working robot (3) to inspect other positions. After the inspection within the current work space is completed, control the electric lifting platform (4) to change the working height of the underwater working robot (3) to continue the inspection and glue application of the crack in the underwater pier of the bridge. Repeat the above process until the electric lifting platform (4) reaches its maximum stroke. After the inspection and gluing of microcracks in the underwater piers of the concrete bridge are completed, restore the electric lifting platform (4) to the initial position and put the extruder (5) back into the tool compartment (8); control the tracked crawler (10) to crawl to other positions and repeat steps S2, S3, and S4; after completing the inspection of all areas of the surface of the underwater piers of the concrete bridge and the sealing of microcracks, control the tracked crawler (10) to crawl to the water surface.

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