Remote Control Of A Hose For Concrete Pouring
(2024) MMTM05 20241Production and Materials Engineering
- Abstract
- The process of pouring concrete is very common in the construction industry. Typically, a person stands on top of reinforcements around the mold of the slab while manually pushing the hose, guiding it in a smooth side-to-side movement until an even pour has filled up the mold. Another person is positioned at a distance from the pouring end controlling the pump and thus the flow of concrete through the hose. The characteristics of the concrete and the flow add significant unpredictability to the process. The concrete is pumped through a long boom system of a pump truck and thus requires enormous pressures to reach the end. In addition, air bubbles occasionally will present themselves in the flow of concrete and these give rise to unexpected... (More)
- The process of pouring concrete is very common in the construction industry. Typically, a person stands on top of reinforcements around the mold of the slab while manually pushing the hose, guiding it in a smooth side-to-side movement until an even pour has filled up the mold. Another person is positioned at a distance from the pouring end controlling the pump and thus the flow of concrete through the hose. The characteristics of the concrete and the flow add significant unpredictability to the process. The concrete is pumped through a long boom system of a pump truck and thus requires enormous pressures to reach the end. In addition, air bubbles occasionally will present themselves in the flow of concrete and these give rise to unexpected changes in the behavior of the pouring hose at the end, causing it to suddenly jerk or vibrate. This clearly poses safety risks for the operator. With a vision of removing this safety concern, a prototype has been built that allows the operator to control the pouring end of the hose remotely. This aim is translated into two research questions that are answered. "Can the operator guiding the hose during the pouring of concrete be replaced by an operator controlling the hose remotely?" and "Is a specific steering strategy optimal or preferred compared to another?".
The prototype consists of an end hose that can be mounted to the end of a standard boom truck hose. By tactically controlling the length of four separate Pneumatic Muscle Actuators the hose can be moved in all directions. The prototype is set up in a lab and a range of tests is performed. A PLC is programmed to control the length of each muscle by changing the air pressure through pressure control valves using a remote controller, resulting in the movement of the hose. Two steering methods are tested in a final human-in-the-loop test that shows promising results for the prototype. Recommendations for improving the steering behavior are given and focus on ways to increase the airflow out of the muscles allowing the hose to move faster and smoother. Further tests and developments are required with the next milestone being a so-called "wet-test" where the performance is assessed while concrete is pumped through the hose. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Concrete is a widely used material in the construction industry. The process of pouring the concrete typically involves multiple operators performing laborious tasks in a harsh working environment with plenty of health and safety risks associated. Safety risks include slippery surfaces, dangerously unpredictable behavior of the hose due to air bubbles, health issues due to concrete coming in contact with the skin, inhaling cement particles and the heavy manual labor involved. This provides a fantastic opportunity for robotics to take over the dangerous parts of this work and contribute to a safer working environment for the workers.
The thesis follows the process of testing and developing the remote controls for a prototype concrete... (More) - Concrete is a widely used material in the construction industry. The process of pouring the concrete typically involves multiple operators performing laborious tasks in a harsh working environment with plenty of health and safety risks associated. Safety risks include slippery surfaces, dangerously unpredictable behavior of the hose due to air bubbles, health issues due to concrete coming in contact with the skin, inhaling cement particles and the heavy manual labor involved. This provides a fantastic opportunity for robotics to take over the dangerous parts of this work and contribute to a safer working environment for the workers.
The thesis follows the process of testing and developing the remote controls for a prototype concrete pouring hose. The goal is to provide an answer to the question of whether the operator can be removed from the dangers surrounding the concrete hose and allow him to stand at a safe distance while remotely operating the concrete pouring hose. In addition, different steering modes are explored. The prototype consists of a piece of a standard pouring hose that can be mounted on a concrete boom truck, commonly used on construction sites or for pouring concrete slabs. Four so-called Pneumatic Muscle Actuators realize the movement of the hose by changing their length. These actuators can be pressurized and filled with air, causing them to contract in length while expanding in diameter, similar to how your muscles contract. Contracting one or two muscles at a time causes the hose to move toward that direction as shown in the image on the right. In the test setup, a Programmable Logical Controller is programmed to increase or decrease the pressure in each muscle separately based on what the operator inputs into a remote controller.
Throughout the thesis, controlling the hose is divided into specific sub-tasks. Starting with controlling a single muscle, expanding to two muscles and ultimately to all four muscles, the program for each sub-task is tested, after which the results are evaluated and the program is updated if necessary. Two different methods of steering are developed where the hose moves either by moving the joystick on the controller or the hose follows the position of the joystick. Specific challenges are discovered such as a limited flow rate of air causing the muscles to deflate slowly, a need to control the other muscles to avoid kinks or unwanted behavior, and the trade-off between range and responsiveness that needs to be considered. The results consist of a functioning program that allows for remote control of the hose and can form a solid base for further development of the prototype. Future recommendations include further testing with different setups, tests while pouring concrete, and improvements to the setup to allow for a more responsive system. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9163200
- author
- Hoffmanns, Ivo Elisabeth Martin LU
- supervisor
-
- Mathias Haage LU
- Björn Olofsson LU
- organization
- course
- MMTM05 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Concrete pouring, Remote control, Pneumatic Muscle Actuator.
- report number
- CODEN:LUTMDN/(TMMV-5367)/1-xx/2024
- language
- English
- id
- 9163200
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-14 13:00:43
- date last changed
- 2024-06-14 13:00:43
@misc{9163200,
abstract = {{The process of pouring concrete is very common in the construction industry. Typically, a person stands on top of reinforcements around the mold of the slab while manually pushing the hose, guiding it in a smooth side-to-side movement until an even pour has filled up the mold. Another person is positioned at a distance from the pouring end controlling the pump and thus the flow of concrete through the hose. The characteristics of the concrete and the flow add significant unpredictability to the process. The concrete is pumped through a long boom system of a pump truck and thus requires enormous pressures to reach the end. In addition, air bubbles occasionally will present themselves in the flow of concrete and these give rise to unexpected changes in the behavior of the pouring hose at the end, causing it to suddenly jerk or vibrate. This clearly poses safety risks for the operator. With a vision of removing this safety concern, a prototype has been built that allows the operator to control the pouring end of the hose remotely. This aim is translated into two research questions that are answered. "Can the operator guiding the hose during the pouring of concrete be replaced by an operator controlling the hose remotely?" and "Is a specific steering strategy optimal or preferred compared to another?".
The prototype consists of an end hose that can be mounted to the end of a standard boom truck hose. By tactically controlling the length of four separate Pneumatic Muscle Actuators the hose can be moved in all directions. The prototype is set up in a lab and a range of tests is performed. A PLC is programmed to control the length of each muscle by changing the air pressure through pressure control valves using a remote controller, resulting in the movement of the hose. Two steering methods are tested in a final human-in-the-loop test that shows promising results for the prototype. Recommendations for improving the steering behavior are given and focus on ways to increase the airflow out of the muscles allowing the hose to move faster and smoother. Further tests and developments are required with the next milestone being a so-called "wet-test" where the performance is assessed while concrete is pumped through the hose.}},
author = {{Hoffmanns, Ivo Elisabeth Martin}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Remote Control Of A Hose For Concrete Pouring}},
year = {{2024}},
}