Mechanical Design of an Underwater Robot to Inspect Closed Environments

摘要

In this work, the design of a robotic inspection module for underwater environments is presented. The leading motivation is the visual inspection of the inside of water containers in nuclear power plants, such as the reactor's vessel. Usually, this task is done manually with an endoscope, which presents drawbacks such as the exposure of operators to radiation. Hence, as an alternative, the use of such a module is proposed. The main requirements for this robot are neutral buoyancy, compact size, smooth shape, and high precision, stability, and maneuverability at low speeds. This paper focuses on the development of the actuators system, which is responsible for the robot's movements. The design is divided in two sub-systems: the propulsion system, for displacements in the space at low speeds, and the buoyancy engine, for vertical translation. Finally, the robot instrumentation and the experimental tests carried out with the manufactured prototype are also discussed.