Strong Magnetic Units for a Wind Power Tower Inspection and Maintenance Robot

Abstract

For developing a climbing robot which is used to inspect and maintain a wind power tower, the magnetic unit is one of the key components. Based on analysis of the working conditions of the robot, the approach in this paper is to use four common kinds of magnetic units for adapting to the conical surface. The magnetic circuit of these units is given by theory analysis and is simulated using ANSYS. Moreover, the magnetic force is analysed in detail and the results prove that the magnetic force is greatly influenced by the gap between the unit and the wall surface. In this paper, the design procedures and selection criteria based on the analytical results are given. Meanwhile, these units are compared with each other with the aid of ANSYS. From the results of this comparison, it can be ascertained that the unit using Installation C has the better performance. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the magnetic unit using Installation C is verified by a prototype. The simulations and experiments show that the magnetic unit can allow the robot to keep in contact with the conical wall surface as well as the plane wall surface.

A Wind-Turbine-Tower-Climbing Robot Prototype Operating at Various Speeds and Payload Capacity: Development and Validation

“…Various adhesion mechanisms have been identified in the application of wind turbines with its prototype models. Among these adhesion mechanisms are magnetic adhesion [2,17,18], vacuum/air suction adhesion [19,20], ropes/rubber bands traction [21], and mechanical-spring traction [22,23]. Locomotion is the mechanism that enables the robot to move unbounded throughout its environments.…”

“…Locomotion is the mechanism that enables the robot to move unbounded throughout its environments. Several types in terms of locomotion mechanism are being classified on wind-turbine-climbing robots, such as wheeled [14,23], tracked [2,15], and legged [19]. Depending on the features of structural components, robots have a variety of climbing mechanisms.…”

“…The advancement of control technologies and the intelligent research on climbing robots [1] receive extensive interest in the academe-industry community to promote scientific discipline, research innovation and technological developments in the field of wind turbine application robots [2][3][4]. Wind-turbine-climbing robots facilitate the digitization of inspection and maintenance operation to prolong the service lifespan and to avoid unexpected external failures of the wind turbine parts [5].…”

Multi-Sensor Orientation Tracking for a Façade-Cleaning Robot

“…Commonly, robots are used for buildings, bridges [1], pipes [2,3], and power lines [4]. In the same way, they are used for maintenance applications: Wall maintenance [5], power line maintenance [6], and wind tower maintenance [7]. These robots are tele-operated.…”

Design and Analysis of a Wall-Climbing Robot Based on a Mechanism Utilizing Hook-Like Claws

“…These robots include LEMUR II [18], which can autonomously climb vertical rock-like surfaces using its four limbs; a bionic modular robot based on the way a pair of claws functions [19]; ROCR, which can climb rough surfaces [20]; robots with feet that adhere onto walls [21]; and the Explorer TM family of pipe robots [23], Wind Power Tower Inspection and Maintenance Robot [24], and tree-climbing robot [24].These robots, however, perform primarily climbing tasks on smooth surfaces or are used in low-altitude applications.…”