Sugin Elankavi Rajendran

@citchennai.edu.in

Assistant Professor and Centre Head
Chennai Institute of Technology

Sugin Elankavi Rajendran


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https://researchid.co/suginer

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Multidisciplinary, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, General Engineering
11

Scopus Publications

151

Scholar Citations

6

Scholar h-index

5

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Design of a wheeled-Type In-Pipe Inspection Robot to overcome motion singularity in curved pipes
    Rajendran Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, Arockia Selvakumar Arockia Doss, R.M. Kuppan Chetty, M.M. Ramya
    Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments, 2024
    This paper discusses the development and design of two wheeled-type In-Pipe Inspection Robots (IPIRs), Kuzhali I and Kuzhali II, which were created to address the limitations of traditional human inspection methods and earlier robot designs. Specifically, the robots aim to overcome the motion singularity experienced by IPIRs when navigating through curved pipes. Kuzhali I was developed with wheels mounted at an asymmetric angle, which enables the wheels to maintain contact with the pipe’s surface, preventing motion singularity. However, Kuzhali I had limitations due to its prismatic mechanism, and thus Kuzhali II was developed with a telescopic mechanism to allow it to pass through vertical pipes with obstacles. Motion analysis was conducted on both robots to demonstrate how they overcome motion singularity and navigate through straight and curved pipelines. Simulation results showed that the forces acting on the robots’ wheels fell within 5 N to 12 N, demonstrating stability while navigating pipeline junctions. Experimental tests were conducted on Kuzhali II, and the results were compared to simulation results, showing an error of less than 5%. The results of the experiments indicate that Kuzhali II is safe to use for pipeline inspection, can navigate through vertical pipelines with ease and can overcome motion singularity in curved pipes. These robots offer a faster, more accurate, and safer alternative to human inspection, which can reduce the risk of pipeline failures and associated environmental and safety hazards.
  • Investigations on the Magnetic Adhesion Properties of Pipe Surface Inspection Robot
    Jaise Jose, Rajendran Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, R. M. Kuppan Chetty, M. M. Ramya
    Aip Conference Proceedings, 2022
  • A Review on Wheeled Type In-Pipe Inspection Robot
    Rajendran Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, R. M. Kuppan Chetty, M. M. Ramya, D. G. Harris Samuel
    International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, 2022
    —Research in In-Pipe Inspection Robots (IPIRs) has gained interest over recent years. Pipeline inspection robots bring reliability and repeatability to various pipeline inspection and maintenance processes. IPIRs are categorized based on their type of locomotion, and this study aims to analyze their advantages and limitations. Among all the IPIRs, the wheeled type IPIR has seen a tremendous change in its design, steering mechanism, and the way they use different wheels to pass through pipelines easily. This study compares and analyses an up-to-date review on wheeled type IPIRs in detail. This review helps the researchers to select the optimal wheeled type IPIR for inspection. The review concludes with the future research directions that the researchers need to focus on for the development of pipeline inspection robots. Developing an effective IPIR ensures human safety and improves the inspection process.
  • Design and Motion Planning of a Wheeled Type Pipeline Inspection Robot
    Rajendran Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, Arockia Selvakumar Arockia Doss, R.M. Kuppan Chetty, M.M. Ramya
    Journal of Robotics and Control Jrc, 2022
    The most popular method for transporting fluids, and gases is through pipelines. For them to work correctly, regular inspection is necessary. Humans must enter potentially dangerous environments to inspect pipelines. As a result, pipeline robots came into existence. These robots aid in pipeline inspection, protecting numerous people from harm. Despite numerous improvements, pipeline robots still have several limitations. This paper presents the design and motion planning of a wheeled type pipeline inspection robot that can inspect pipelines having an inner diameter between 250 mm to 350 mm. The traditional wheeled robot design has three wheels fixed symmetrically at a 120° angle apart from each other. When maneuvering through a curved pipeline, this robot encounters motion singularity. The proposed robot fixes the wheels at different angles to address this issue, allowing the robot to stay in constant contact with the pipe's surface. Motion analysis is done for the proposed and existing robot design to study their behavior inside the pipeline. The result shows that the proposed robot avoids motion singularity and improves mobility inside pipelines. 3d printing technology aids in the development of the proposed robot. The experimental tests on the developed robot inside a 300 mm-diameter straight and curved pipeline show that the robot avoids motion singularity.
  • The Development of Ultrasonic C-Scan for Ferrous Wall Surface using the Climbing Robot
    Jaise Jose, Rajendran Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, M.M. Ramya, R M. Kuppan Chetty
    7th International Conference on Communication and Electronics Systems Icces 2022 Proceedings, 2022
    This paper describes the use of a wall-climbing robot for performing the ultrasonic C-Scan of the vertical surface. The robot utilizes permanent magnetic adhesion and can climb the ferrous surface to inspect the ferrous infrastructures like oil tanks. With the wheeled locomotion, encoders in the wheel can be used for locating the robot on the vertical surface. A specially designed housing is fabricated for the robot to hold a 2 MHz probe to perform the ultrasonic testing of the surface that is climbed. The probe holder movement is controlled through a motorized belt drive, enabling the probe to establish contact with the surface and retract. This paper details how the C-Scan is built using the position and A-Scan data thus obtained. Each scan data is processed individually using the MATLAB signal analyzer. It is evident from the results that the defect has a different frequency reflection and is visible from the C-Scan developed. The final C-Scan image was checked by superimposing on with the test surface and the defect was found to agree with the obtained scan image.
  • Kinematic Modeling and Analysis of Wheeled In-Pipe Inspection Mobile Robot
    Rajendran Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, R. M. Kuppan Chetty, M. M. Ramya, Arockia Selvakumar Arockia Doss
    Handbook of Smart Materials Technologies and Devices Applications of Industry 4 0 Volume 1 3, 2022
  • Optimized Design and Performance Comparison of Wheeled Type In-Pipe Inspection Robot
    Rajendran Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, R.M. Kuppan Chetty, M.M. Ramya, Jaise Jose
    6th International Conference on Electronics Communication and Aerospace Technology Iceca 2022 Proceedings, 2022
    Pipelines are crucial in transportation, requiring regular maintenance to function correctly. Robots perform maintenance works, and each robot moves through the pipes using a different mechanism. The In-Pipe Inspection robots are categorized based on their locomotion types. The mechanisms utilized by wheeled wall-pressed type In-Pipe Inspection Robots are divided into dependent and independent mechanisms. The present wheeled IPIR using the dependent mechanism finds difficulty in passing through vertical pipe with obstacles. In this study, one robot from each mechanism is chosen, and the mobility of that robot inside a vertical pipe with an obstacle is examined through simulation using the MSC ADAMS software and observed experimentally. The results show that the robot wheels used in the independent mechanism always make contact with the pipeline's inner surface compared to the dependent mechanism. This result indicates that the robot with the independent mechanism is more suitable for In-Pipe inspection.
  • Modelling and Implementation of Out-Pipe Inspection Robot
    Rajendran Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, K.P. Nithish Ram, V. Ramanathan, S. Jayarajan, et al.
    4th International Conference on Inventive Research in Computing Applications Icirca 2022 Proceedings, 2022
    The chemical, oil and windmill plants use pipelines for transportation, mainly carbon steel. The pipelines are examined by human personnel, which is unsafe and leads to many accidents. The solution for these problems is inspection robots which can be used extensively for pipeline inspection. They can perform the task of analyzing the damage or defects that occur over the pipelines. In this project, we have designed and developed a robot which can crawl and traverse along the pipeline externally. A 3D model of the robot is made and exported to the ADAMS package for dynamic analysis. The results show that for the robot to move along the pipeline, a force of a bout 100 N and a dynamic torque of 5 N are required. A magnetic analysis was performed to select the wheel that could produce 60 N of force for a single pair. This analysis was carried out using the FEMM package and from the results obtained, an N35 magnet with a radius of 50 mm was selected. The hardware and components for a 400 mm diameter pipeline were chosen based on simulation results, and the results obtained are up to 85% in agreement with simulation results. The proposed robot was fabricated, and it was found that it could carry a load of 8 Kg while moving over a vertical pipe.
  • Mobility of Modular In-Pipe Inspection Robot inside Curved and L-Branch Pipes
    R. Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, R.M. Kuppan Chetty, M.M. Ramya
    2021 IEEE Conference on Norbert Wiener in the 21st Century Being Human in A Global Village 21cw 2021, 2021
    This paper presents a modular design of a wheeled wall-press type In-pipe Inspection Robot using 3D printing technology. The proposed robot (Kuzhali) consists of a prismatic joint to which the modular parts are attached. This mechanism ensures that the wheels are in contact with the pipe's internal surface. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed on the custom-designed parts to see whether they can withstand the stress acting on them while passing through straight and curved pipelines. The analysis was carried out for curved pipes with a Factor of Safety of 1.5. To optimize the performance and durability of the robotic legs, the thickness of the components are modified. The design of the components was validated with an error of ± 5 %. The new design was fabricated and it was found that the proposed robot was able to move through straight, curved and L-branch pipes in the horizontal plane.
  • Optimization of distance between magnets for magnetic wall climbing robots
    Jaise Jose, R. Sugin Elankavi, D. Dinakaran, RM. Kuppan Chetty, M.M. Ramya
    Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Sustainable Systems Iciss 2020, 2020
    In this paper, an adhesion system used for magnetic wall climbing robots using permanent magnets is examined for its change in adhesion concerning the inter-magnet distance within the Yoke. Pocket milled ferrous material of high permeability named yoke is used to hold neodymium magnets in mobile wall-climbing robots. For a climbing robot, the self-weight is a significant parameter which needs to be at the minimum possible value. This simulation study is expected to help in bringing down the weight of the yoke holding magnets and help in finding the right inter magnet distance for the magnets used. Simulation studies were carried out for various inter magnet distances and the values are reported. An optimized distance was arrived using the simulation results thus obtained.
  • Experimental investigations on orthogonal turning of inconel 718 with TiAlN coated tool
    K. Gobivel, K.S. Vijay Sekar, G. Prabhakaran, R. Sugin Elankavi
    Materials Science Forum, 2020

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Design and development of a modular magnetic wheeled robot for out-pipe inspection
    SE Rajendran, KC Ramanathan, HK Guasekaran, AK Pinagapani, ...
    IAES International Journal of Robotics and Automation (IJRA) 14 (4), 331-344 , 2025
    2025
  • Design of a wheeled type in-pipe inspection robot to overcome motion singularity in curved pipes
    R Sugin Elankavi, D Dinakaran, ASA Doss, RM Kuppan Chetty, ...
    Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments 16 (1), 43-55 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 10
  • Optimized Design and Performance Comparison of Wheeled Type In-Pipe Inspection Robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya, J Jose
    2022 6th International Conference on Electronics, Communication and … , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 1
  • Kinematic Modeling and Analysis of Wheeled In-Pipe Inspection Mobile Robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya, ASA Doss
    Handbook of Smart Materials, Technologies, and Devices, pp 995-1009 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 8
  • Investigations on the magnetic adhesion properties of pipe surface inspection robot
    J Jose, RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya
    AIP Conference Proceedings 2502 (1), 030004 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 3
  • A review on wheeled type in-pipe inspection robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya, DGH Samuel
    International journal of mechanical engineering and robotics research 11 (10 … , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 35
  • Modelling and Implementation of Out-Pipe Inspection Robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, KPN Ram, V Ramanathan, S Jayarajan, ...
    2022 4th International Conference on Inventive Research in Computing … , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 1
  • Design and motion planning of a wheeled type pipeline inspection robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, ASA Doss, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya
    Journal of Robotics and Control (JRC) 3 (4), 415-430 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 23
  • The Development of Ultrasonic C-Scan for Ferrous Wall Surface using the Climbing Robot
    J Jose, RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, MM Ramya, RMK Chetty
    2022 7th International Conference on Communication and Electronics Systems … , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 1
  • AN INVESTIGATION ON MAGNETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RING MAGNET FOR WHEELED IN-PIPE AND OUT-PIPE ROBOTS
    RS ELANKAVI, D DINAKARAN, RMK CHETTY, MM RAMYA, J JOSE
    CLAWAR 16, 17 , 2022
    2022
  • Mobility of modular in-pipe inspection robot inside curved and L-Branch pipes
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya
    2021 IEEE Conference on Norbert Wiener in the 21st Century (21CW), 1-5 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 10
  • A Comparative Study of Adhesion Mechanism for Wall Climbing Robots: Ring Magnet vs. Block Magnets
    J Jose, R Sugin Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RM Kuppan Chetty, MM Ramya
    IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1145 (1), 012063 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 4
  • Optimization of distance between magnets for magnetic wall climbing robots
    J Jose, RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya
    2020 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Sustainable Systems (ICISS … , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 6
  • DEVELOPMENTS IN INPIPE INSPECTION ROBOT: A REVIEW
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, J Jose
    JOURNAL OF MECHANICS OF CONTINUA AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES 15 (5), 238-248 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 33
  • Experimental investigations on orthogonal turning of inconel 718 with TiAlN coated tool
    K Gobivel, KSV Sekar, G Prabhakaran, RS Elankavi
    Materials Science Forum 979, 142-148 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 6
  • Review on modified vehicles for differently abled people
    CP Venkatesh, U Rajesh, NH Sudhan, RS Elankavi, KBP Kumar, ...
    International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology 5 (10), pp … , 2018
    2018
    Citations: 5
  • Study of Flow and Heat Transfer Analysis in Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger using CFD
    RS Elankavi, TU Shankar
    International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology 5 (10), pp. 467-473 , 2018
    2018
    Citations: 5

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • A review on wheeled type in-pipe inspection robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya, DGH Samuel
    International journal of mechanical engineering and robotics research 11 (10 … , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 35
  • DEVELOPMENTS IN INPIPE INSPECTION ROBOT: A REVIEW
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, J Jose
    JOURNAL OF MECHANICS OF CONTINUA AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES 15 (5), 238-248 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 33
  • Design and motion planning of a wheeled type pipeline inspection robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, ASA Doss, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya
    Journal of Robotics and Control (JRC) 3 (4), 415-430 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 23
  • Design of a wheeled type in-pipe inspection robot to overcome motion singularity in curved pipes
    R Sugin Elankavi, D Dinakaran, ASA Doss, RM Kuppan Chetty, ...
    Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments 16 (1), 43-55 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 10
  • Mobility of modular in-pipe inspection robot inside curved and L-Branch pipes
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya
    2021 IEEE Conference on Norbert Wiener in the 21st Century (21CW), 1-5 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 10
  • Kinematic Modeling and Analysis of Wheeled In-Pipe Inspection Mobile Robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya, ASA Doss
    Handbook of Smart Materials, Technologies, and Devices, pp 995-1009 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 8
  • Optimization of distance between magnets for magnetic wall climbing robots
    J Jose, RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya
    2020 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Sustainable Systems (ICISS … , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 6
  • Experimental investigations on orthogonal turning of inconel 718 with TiAlN coated tool
    K Gobivel, KSV Sekar, G Prabhakaran, RS Elankavi
    Materials Science Forum 979, 142-148 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 6
  • Review on modified vehicles for differently abled people
    CP Venkatesh, U Rajesh, NH Sudhan, RS Elankavi, KBP Kumar, ...
    International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology 5 (10), pp … , 2018
    2018
    Citations: 5
  • Study of Flow and Heat Transfer Analysis in Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger using CFD
    RS Elankavi, TU Shankar
    International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology 5 (10), pp. 467-473 , 2018
    2018
    Citations: 5
  • A Comparative Study of Adhesion Mechanism for Wall Climbing Robots: Ring Magnet vs. Block Magnets
    J Jose, R Sugin Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RM Kuppan Chetty, MM Ramya
    IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1145 (1), 012063 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 4
  • Investigations on the magnetic adhesion properties of pipe surface inspection robot
    J Jose, RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya
    AIP Conference Proceedings 2502 (1), 030004 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 3
  • Optimized Design and Performance Comparison of Wheeled Type In-Pipe Inspection Robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, RMK Chetty, MM Ramya, J Jose
    2022 6th International Conference on Electronics, Communication and … , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 1
  • Modelling and Implementation of Out-Pipe Inspection Robot
    RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, KPN Ram, V Ramanathan, S Jayarajan, ...
    2022 4th International Conference on Inventive Research in Computing … , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 1
  • The Development of Ultrasonic C-Scan for Ferrous Wall Surface using the Climbing Robot
    J Jose, RS Elankavi, D Dinakaran, MM Ramya, RMK Chetty
    2022 7th International Conference on Communication and Electronics Systems … , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 1
  • Design and development of a modular magnetic wheeled robot for out-pipe inspection
    SE Rajendran, KC Ramanathan, HK Guasekaran, AK Pinagapani, ...
    IAES International Journal of Robotics and Automation (IJRA) 14 (4), 331-344 , 2025
    2025
  • AN INVESTIGATION ON MAGNETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RING MAGNET FOR WHEELED IN-PIPE AND OUT-PIPE ROBOTS
    RS ELANKAVI, D DINAKARAN, RMK CHETTY, MM RAMYA, J JOSE
    CLAWAR 16, 17 , 2022
    2022