Analysis of Removing Barnacles Attached on Rough Substrate with Cleaning Robot

Abstract

In this paper, a cleaning robot is designed to remove the marine fouling attached to a marine steel pile. In the following study, in order to analyse the process of cleaning marine fouling attached to a rough substrate, the barnacle is taken as a typical case in order to study the horizontal cutting force in the scarping process for removing barnacles on a rough substrate. The adhesion model of the barnacle was established on a rough rigid substrate. Considering both right angle cutting theory and the Peel Zone method, a scraping means and horizontal cutting force model for rough surface cleaning are proposed for the study of the surface cleaning of steel piles. In order to make the model more accurate, the finite element method is used to analyze and compare its errors. Through comparative analysis, it is known that the relative average errors about the cutting force in the horizontal direction are less than 15%. The analysis shows that the blade rake angle and rough substrate have a great influence on the horizontal cutting force. It can be concluded that the cutting force needed to clean the barnacle attached to the surface decreases correspondingly as the rake angle of the blade increases; and the rougher the substrate is, the greater the horizontal cutting force required. It is recommended to use 60° for blade rake angle. We can use the model to predict the horizontal cutting force and blade rake angle in the design of a cleaning robot.