Robot cleaning of underground liquid storage tanks: Feasibility and design considerations

✍ Scribed by Anil Mital; Mangesh Kulkarni; Ronald Huston; Sam Anand

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 761 KB
• Volume: 20
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0921-8890
• DOI: 10.1016/s0921-8890(96)00038-3

✦ Synopsis

This paper presents a feasibility study and design considerations for robotic cleaning and maintenance of underground liquid storage tanks. The paper also p~'esents a model of a cleansing robot and a conceptual design of the robot geometry and its actuators.

The governing kinematic and cljnamic equations are developed using Lagrangian procedures. The solutions of these equations for desired robot cleaning trajectories produces a design basis for the robot. This design procedure is then generalized to accommodate storage tanks of variou,~ sizes and containing various chemicals. This generalization in tam is then used to develop computer ~ofiware called: Cleaning Liquid Storage Tanks: Engineering and Analysis of Robotic Cleaning Systems (CLEARS).

CLEARS is an interactive computer program allowing users to develop a robot design for tanks of various dimensions and for cleansing and maintenance maneuvers requiring specific motions of the en6 ~ffector. The output of CLEARS is presented in both numerical anti graphic formats including an animation module.