Segmented Flexible Shaft for Pipe Inspection Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe inspection methods face challenges in navigating long distances and accurately detecting leaks within underground pipes without disrupting water network services, as they often require extensive excavation and are not reliable in visual detection.
Innovation Solution
A pipe inspection system featuring a flexible shaft with a rigid distal end and intermediate portions connected by pivotable sections allowing up to 100 degrees of pivoting, combined with a flexible guide and drive mechanisms like expandable webs, to facilitate insertion and navigation through tight bends and obstacles within pipes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid camera feed is used for visual inspection, then the structural integrity is maintained, but the ability to navigate tight bends and long distances is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is divided into multiple rigid sections connected by flexible joints, allowing each section to maintain structural integrity while the overall system can bend and navigate complex pipe geometries
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft transitions from a completely rigid structure to a dynamically flexible structure with joints that allow bending, enabling the system to adapt to varying pipe configurations while maintaining sufficient rigidity for structural integrity
2Adaptability or versatility
If a flexible shaft is used to navigate tight bends, then the adaptability to pipe geometry is improved, but the friction and resistance increase reducing insertion distance
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is segmented into rigid sections connected by joints, which reduces friction compared to a completely flexible shaft while maintaining the ability to navigate bends
Solution Approach 2:
The shaft is pre-bent during insertion to match known pipe geometry, reducing friction and resistance by aligning the shaft with the pipe contours before full insertion is achieved
3Device complexity
If visual inspection methods are used for leak detection, then the simplicity of the method is maintained, but the reliability of leak detection is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
Acoustic sensors are introduced as intermediary detection devices that convert leak sounds into detectable signals, providing more reliable leak detection than direct visual inspection while maintaining relative system simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection method transitions from purely visual (mechanical/optical) to include acoustic sensing, replacing the limitation of visual inspection with a more reliable acoustic detection mechanism
4Measurement precision
If excavation is performed to locate leaks, then the accuracy of leak location is improved, but the disruption to water network services and time required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The leak location method is replaced from physical excavation to acoustic sensing and signal processing, enabling accurate leak localization without disrupting water network services or requiring time-consuming excavation work
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient and reliable insertion and navigation of inspection heads through complex pipe geometries, reducing excavation needs and improving leak detection accuracy while maintaining operational pressures and flows.
Implementation Method 1
the flexible region comprises a series of sections with pivotal connections between adjacent sections which allow pivoting about two orthogonal axes
Implementation Method 2
it can also function as a biasing arrangement, to urge the shaft back towards a straight configuration
Implementation Method 3
the inner surface of each section is provided with a roller arrangement for guiding a pipe inspection system shaft which passes though the centre of the sections
Implementation Method 4
an expandable web which is attached to the rotary bearing by support rods which are pivotally connected to the rotary bearing such that they can contract to collapse the web around the shaft or expand to form an open web which functions as a drive mechanism driven by the fluid flow in the pipe
Data Source
AI summary
A pipe inspection system comprises an inspection head at the end of a flexible shaft, wherein the inspection head comprises a rigid distal end portion and a rigid intermediate portion spaced from the distal end portion by a flexible region. The flexible region comprises a series of sections with pivotal connections between adjacent sections which allow pivoting about two orthogonal axes, wherein the range of pivoting between adjacent sections is limited such that the complete series can be pivoted by a maximum angle of between 80 and 100 degrees.