Undisturbed soil core sampling method using a small underwater robot for the survey of environmental radioactivity in lakes

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26550044
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental impact assessment
• Research Institution: Fukushima University
• Principal Investigator: Takahashi Takayuki 福島大学, 共生システム理工学類, 教授 (70197151)
• Research Collaborator: CANETE Luis ; KAMIO Shuta ; ANZAI Kahori ; MANH Dam Quang ; TANAKI Mizuki ; KANNO Ryo
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 環境放射能調査 / 底質 / 水中ロボット / 柱状採泥 / 層構造保存 / 不攪乱

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The developed undisturbed soil core sampling method is performed by driving the bottom end of a stainless steel pipe into the soil and drawing it after closing the top end of the pipe. The force required to penetrate and draw the pipe can be reduced by using pipes with thin walls which enables small underwater robots that can only generate a small amount of propeller thrust force to perform the sampling. The actual sampling device uses a valve to automatically open and close the top end of the pipe. Experiments conducted at Inwashiro Lake confirm the proposed sampling method works well. We also developed a thruster that maximizes the propeller thrust force by optimizing motor and propeller matching. Furthermore, a patch antenna that increases the reliability of radio communication between modules was also developed.

Free Research Field

ロボット工学・制御工学