The "robot dog" went down the well to explore the underground pipeline

Source: Science and Technology Daily

Science and Technology Daily News (Cai Huaju Wang Hao reporter Wu Changfeng) The keel is flexible, the footsteps are light, and the "eyes" are like copper bells shining with spirit... A few days ago, next to the drainage manhole cover on the side of Guanggu Third Road in the East Lake High-tech Development Zone of Wuhan City, a "robot dog" with free movement attracted everyone's attention.

"The 'robot dog' can quickly go deep into the rain and sewage pipelines of several 10 meters underground without breaking the road surface, detect pipeline diseases and provide accurate positioning, and provide first-hand data for later restoration construction." Cheng Qili, project manager of the East Lake Drainage Pipe Network Inspection and Renovation Project of the Fourth Bureau of China Railway, told reporters that the project has introduced 15 "robot dogs" to explore the pipe network underground, and after finding that the pipeline is damaged, the staff will carry out "traceless" repair.

The reporter saw at the scene that the "robot dog" has 3 pairs of different models of "rubber claws" to grasp the fuselage advance and retreat, and the two sets of searchlights and cameras at the beginning and end act as "electronic eyes", pulling the front and rear iron "neck rings" to assist it in moving forward. After the "mechanical dog" enters the well, the image in the tube can be transmitted back to the screen of the staff's handheld operator station, and the operator only needs to move his finger to direct him to perform forward and backward, up and down, capture obstacles and other actions.

The operator told reporters that according to the type of disease detected by the "mechanical dog", the staff can use a variety of pipeline trenchless repair techniques to effectively solve the defects and diseases such as internal corrosion of the pipeline and the misalignment of interface leakage.

According to the test results, the project department timely adopted CIPP local repair technology to repair the pipe network. First, the resin-impregnated glass fiber fabric package is pulled with the pipeline lining patch to the damaged place, and then the airbag of the repairer is inflated, and the resin film after inflating and expanding seamlessly fits with the damaged pipe wall, which can be cured and formed in about 2 hours, and then the repair air bladder is deflated and contracted, transported to the outside of the well, and the hole is repaired. Xu Qing, director of the Engineering Department of the Project Department, told reporters that the drainage pipe network inspection and transformation (phase I) project covers the entire East Lake High-tech Zone, and the pipe network needs to be transformed for 1665 kilometers. At present, each pipeline maintenance is about 2.5 hours, up to 4 hours, and one team can promote 5 pipeline repairs per day, and the work efficiency is greatly improved.