Abstract PIGs (pipeline inspection gauges) have been the main equipment for pigging, inner inspecting operations in oil and gas pipelines. Due to the insurmountable shortcomings of conventional sealing discs, it is impossible to actively control the PIG when it is running on the pipeline, which leads to no way when the PIG is stuck. In this study, a new type of bio-inspired sealing disc was designed in combination with the webbed foot structure of animals (e.g., bird, frog, duck), soft robot technology and the conventional sealing disc, adding a new way to the mechanical pigging method. And the 3D printing technology was used to print the sample of the bio-inspired sealing disc, taking into account the new direction of manufacturing the PIG. Then, effects of the interference (δ), clamping rate (ζ), webbed foot thickness (tw) and the number of webbed foot (N) of the bio-inspired sealing disc on the contact force and stress were studied using MSC Marc 2016 when the PIG was in pipe. The simulation results show that the contact force and stress on the bio-inspired sealing disc are not uniform, showing a great difference in the uniform contact force and stress on the conventional sealing disc. The effect of interference and clamping rate on the maximum contact force, stress on the bio-inspired sealing disc and the influence on the conventional sealing disc are basically the same, but the impact on the minimum stress and contact force is different. The thickness of the webbed foot has the greatest influence on the contact force, stress on the bio-inspired sealing disc, and the number of the foot has the least influence.

中文翻译：

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小直径管道中管道检测仪表 (PIG) 的 3D 打印仿生密封盘

摘要 PIG（管道检测仪）已成为油气管道清管、内检作业的主要设备。由于传统密封盘无法克服的缺点，在管道上运行时无法主动控制PIG，导致PIG卡住时无路可走。本研究结合动物（如鸟、青蛙、鸭）的蹼足结构、软体机器人技术和传统的密封盘，设计了一种新型仿生密封盘，为机械密封增加了新的途径。清管法。并采用3D打印技术打印仿生密封盘样品，兼顾了PIG制造的新方向。然后，干扰 (δ)、钳位率 (ζ) 的影响，当 PIG 在管道中时，使用 MSC Marc 2016 研究了仿生密封盘的蹼足厚度 (tw) 和蹼足数量 (N) 对接触力和应力的影响。仿真结果表明，仿生密封盘上的接触力和应力不均匀，与常规密封盘上的均匀接触力和应力存在较大差异。过盈量和夹紧率对最大接触力的影响，仿生密封盘上的应力和对常规密封盘的影响基本相同，但对最小应力和接触力的影响不同。蹼足的粗细对接触力、仿生密封盘上的应力影响最大，足的数量影响最小。