Optimal Design and Development of Centralizer for Pipe Cutting Tool

An analytical optimization approach of centralizer for pipe cutting tool is presented. By solving the objective function of the spring stiffness, the parameters of the spring including the material, the stiffness, the mid-diameter, the diameter of the spring wire and the number of coils are all obtained. By establishing the mathematical model of the support arms, the dimensions of the support arms are optimized based on MATLAB software. In order to validate the optimum design results, the motion simulation of the centralizer is executed by using ADAMSbased motion analysis. The virtual prototypes models before and after the optimization are both constructed. The optimized structure is verified to have better performance in comparison with the former one. In addition, the optimized centralizer has more excellent mechanics performance and can ensure the concentricity and stability of the pipe cutting tool.