Underground Construction - February 2021 - 40

First Look: Robots Tackle Underground Pipe Repair
all the way down to minimally sized robots.
While some energy chains can be made
of metal, they require maintenance. The
weight of machine components has led to
the use of more lightweight components,
such as plastic. The tech-up, cost-down
igus energy chains require no maintenance,
resist dirt and can reduce installation costs
by 88 percent.
In the Crawler, an energy chain allows
the wheel width to be adjusted as it moves
within the penstock. Diameters vary from 5
to 1.5 to 13 meters, and the automated unit
is adjusted through the umbilical cord that is
controlled by the command center operator.
Energy chains are also used to manage
and protect electrical cables going from
the lower control cabinets to the upper
cabinets. They are used in the main boom
raise, which allows the boom to extend and
contract as it works within the pipe.
There are also servo motor cables that
direct boom movement and in the 1,640foot umbilical cord that contains power
and control cables, along with fiber optic

PIPE

FUSION AS
EASY AS...

cables. A grease-free slewing ring bearing
allows the boom to pivot from side to side
without the worry of future maintenance.

Infrastructure challenge
Besides safety, the Crawler offers one other
primary advantage for communities and
businesses. The devices work more quickly,
efficiently and safely than manual labor.
There is also no question that it meets
necessary needs. The world's infrastructure
is crumbling. Whether it is the United
States, Canada, Europe or elsewhere, there
are plenty of projects that require rehabilitation and restoration. In December, for
instance, the United Kingdom government
authorized spending €400 million (about
$478 million) to invest in Northern
Ireland's infrastructure.
The World Economic Forum's gloomy
forecast from 2019 said the world was
facing a $15-trillion gap between projected
investment and the amount needed to provide adequate global infrastructure by 2040.
The Crawler will help reduce labor costs

on projects. " Similar to any automation
project, it's going to reduce the amount of
manual labor required,'' Kronz said. " The
work will also be more consistent. Just not
cosmetically superior. It's going to be far
superior to somebody working overhead
and dangling within the pipe. "
And safety? Robots can be rebuilt if an
accident occurs. Human lives cannot be
restored. There is no price tag for the loss
of human life.
" Any tunnels that are being built are
going to need rehab over time, " Garvoille
said. " It's not limited to water or liquid
applications. It could be used in any
tunnel that is being built. "
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Remote Orbital Installations, (608) 845-0360,
roi360.com
Big Sky Engineering, (608) 848-9898, bigskyeng.
com
igus, (800) 521-2747, igus.com

DAN THOMPSON is the energy chain industry
manager for igus, N.A.

Choose your fusion control level:

1 2 3
Operatorcontrolled
carriage position
and times during
fusion process

Softwarecontrolled shift
sequence and
heating / fusion
times with onscreen prompts

Fully automatic,
automatic,
software-controlled
process

TRACSTAR® iSERIES
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TracStar 630i

LEARN MORE at mcelroy.com/iseries
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FEBRUARY 2021 | UCONonline.com

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Underground Construction - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - February 2021