Design of a magnetic hemispherical wheeled pipeline robot

The paper designed a wheeled pipeline robot with a magnetic hemispherical wheel for pipeline with various curvatures. The magnetic hemispherical wheel can adapt to pipes with different curvatures. By changing the direction of the magnetic hemispherical wheel’s spherical surface, the robot can crawl inside or outside the pipe. Two different magnet holders suitable for the hemispherical wheel were designed. Parametric simulations were conducted to analyze the magnetic force magnitude at different angles of the magnet holder. The pitch angle of the swing arms of the robot was analyzed when turning angles changed. Finally, a prototype was built, and motion performance tests were conducted to show its performance.