scholarly journals Design and Development of a Climbing Robot for Wind Turbine Maintenance

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2328
Author(s):  
Jui-Hung Liu ◽  
Kathleen Padrigalan
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Prototype Model ◽  
Climbing Robot ◽  
Design And Development ◽  
Stepper Motors ◽  
Inspection Tasks ◽  
Maintenance And Inspection

The evolution of the wind turbine to generate carbon-free renewable energy is rapidly growing. Thus, performing maintenance and inspection tasks in high altitude environments or difficult to access places, and even bad weather conditions, poses a problem for the periodic inspection process of the wind turbine industry. This paper describes the design and development of a scaled-down prototype climbing robot for wind turbine maintenance to perform critical tower operations. Thus, the unique feature of this maintenance robot is the winding mechanism, which uses a tension force to grip on the tower surface without falling to the ground either in static or dynamic situations, with the locomotion to perform a straight up–down motion in a circular truncated cone and the stability to work at significant heights. The robot computer-aided design (CAD) model of the mechanical mechanism, force and structural analysis, and the testing of the prototype model, are addressed in this paper. The key hardware developments that were utilized to build a low-cost, reliable and compact climbing robot are the embedded microprocessors, brushed DC motors, stepper motors and steel rope. This paper concludes with a successful preliminary experiment of a scaled down prototype proving the functionality of the concept. The potential applications for this robot are industrial maintenance, inspection and exploration, security and surveillance, cleaning, painting, and welding at extreme height conditions.

Design and Development of Flexible Systems Load Deflection Tester

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayse Tekes ◽  
Mohammed Mayeed ◽  
Kevin McFall
Keyword(s):  
Compliant Mechanisms ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Force Sensor ◽  
Flexible Systems ◽  
Deflection Curve ◽  
Design And Development ◽  
Vision Measurement ◽  
Stepper Motors ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Deflection Test

Abstract This study presents the design and development of a novel, low-cost load-deflection test setup providing the testing of flexible links and compliant mechanisms. Test bench consists of two stepper motors, lead screw, rail system, two carts, two clamps, bearings and a force sensor. Clamps are designed in a way to attach various types of compliant members such as pinned-pinned buckling beam, fixed-fixed beam and 3D printed links. Mechanism enables to calculate the stiffness of compliant and 3D printed flexible systems. Sliders are displaced quasi-statically to slowly stretch or compress the flexible members attached in between two clamps. Displacement of the carts and deflection of the midpoint of the buckling beams are captured using machine vision measurement. Force applied from one of the carts to the end of the attached link is recorded using the force sensor. Stiffness of 3D printed flexible translational vibratory mechanisms is obtained using the displacement of the carts and load deflection curve of buckling beams are obtained using deflection curve and load data. Experimental results are compared with the same simulations performed by FEA analysis.

Design and Development of Low Cost All Terrain Vehicle (ATV)

2014 ◽  
Vol 663 ◽  
pp. 517-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Azman Abdullah ◽  
Noreffendy Tamaldin ◽  
Faiz Redza Ramli ◽  
Mohd Nizam Sudin ◽  
Muslim Abdul Mohamed Mu’in
Keyword(s):  
Vehicle Dynamics ◽  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Budget Constraint ◽  
Design And Development ◽  
Automotive Technology ◽  
Aided Design ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Motorcycle Engine

Two units of all terrain vehicles (ATV) have been designed and developed by 3rd year automotive students of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM). The purposes of this project are to design and develop low cost ATVs. The students have to organize themselves to design and build the ATVs within budget constraint. This project emphasizes on the practical and engineering applications of the subjects Vehicle Dynamics and Automotive Technology which are taken by the students within the same semester (Semester II, Session 2012/2013). The students have all the freedom in deciding the specifications of the ATVs. A 110 cc 4 strokes motorcycle engine is used for the powertrain. Design and analysis of the components are performed using commercial computer aided design (CAD) software. Basic fabrication processes such as cutting, fitting and welding are carried out by the students. The ATVs are evaluated based on functionality and design. The low cost conceptual ATVs have been successfully designed, developed and tested. With further development and research, the ATVs are subjected for improvement. The sustainability of the design and development of the ATVs depends on the material selection, design criteria and components availability.

scholarly journals Design and development of a low-cost pole climbing robot using Arduino Mega

2021 ◽  
Vol 1969 (1) ◽  
pp. 012008
Author(s):  
H Khairam ◽  
Y M Choong ◽  
N S N Ismadi ◽  
W A F W Othman ◽  
A A A Wahab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Climbing Robot ◽  
Design And Development

scholarly journals Design and Motion Planning of a Biped Climbing Robot with Redundant Manipulator

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (15) ◽  
pp. 3009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Chang ◽  
Xiao Luo ◽  
Zhixia Qiao ◽  
Qian Li
Keyword(s):  
Motion Planning ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
System Development ◽  
Robotic Systems ◽  
Climbing Robot ◽  
Redundant Manipulator ◽  
Railway Bridges ◽  
Planning Algorithm ◽  
Inspection Tasks ◽  
Maintenance And Inspection

A novel robot capable of performing maintenance and inspection tasks for railway bridges is proposed in this paper. Termed CMBOT (climbing manipulator robot), the robot is a combination of a five-degrees-of-freedom (5-Dof) biped climbing robot with two electromagnetic feet and a redundant manipulator with 7-Dof. This capability offers important advantages for performing maintenance and inspection tasks for railway bridges. Several fundamental issues of the CMBOT, such as robotic system development and motion planning algorithms, are addressed in this paper. A series of simulations and prototype experiments were conducted to validate the proposed robotic systems and motion planning algorithm. The results of the experiments show the reliability of the robotic systems and the efficiency of the motion planning algorithm.

scholarly journals Motion Planning for Vibration Reduction of a Railway Bridge Maintenance Robot with a Redundant Manipulator

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (22) ◽  
pp. 2793
Author(s):  
Qing Chang ◽  
Huaiwen Wang ◽  
Dongai Wang ◽  
Haijun Zhang ◽  
Keying Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motion Planning ◽  
Obstacle Avoidance ◽  
Vibration Reduction ◽  
Railway Bridge ◽  
Climbing Robot ◽  
Redundant Manipulator ◽  
Tracking Errors ◽  
Quintic Polynomial ◽  
Inspection Tasks ◽  
Maintenance And Inspection

Motivated by the potential applications of maintenance and inspection tasks for railway bridges, we have developed a biped climbing robot. The biped climbing robot can climb on the steel guardrail of the railway bridge with two electromagnetic feet and implement the maintenance and inspection tasks by a redundant manipulator with 7 degrees of freedom. To reduce the vibration of the manipulator caused by the low rigidity of the guardrail and the discontinuous trajectories of joints, a motion planning algorithm for vibration reduction is proposed in this paper. A geometric path accounting for obstacle avoidance and the manipulator’s center of gravity is determined by the gradient projection method with a singularity-robust inverse. Then, a piecewise quintic polynomial S shape curve with a smooth jerk (derivative of joint angular acceleration) profile is used to interpolate the sequence of joint angular position knots that are transformed from the via-points in the obstacle-avoidance path. The parameters of the quintic polynomial S-curve are determined by a nonlinear programming problem in which the objective function is to minimize the maximus of the torque exerted by the manipulator on the guardrail throughout the jerk-continuous trajectory. Finally, a series of simulation experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The simulation results show that the tracking errors of the trajectory with the proposed optimization algorithm are significantly smaller than the tracking errors of the trajectory without optimization. The absolute values of mean deviation of the tracking errors of the three coordinate axes decreased by at least 48.3% compared to the trajectory without vibration-reduction in the triangle working path and linear working path trajectory following simulations. The analysis results prove that the proposed algorithm can effectively reduce the vibration of the end effector of the manipulator.

scholarly journals Analysis of Mechanical Adhesion Climbing Robot Design for Wind Tower Inspection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shyamal Chandra Mondal ◽  
Patricio l. C. Marquez ◽  
Mohammad Osman Tokhi
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Inspection System ◽  
Robot Design ◽  
Potential Hazard ◽  
Climbing Robot ◽  
Mechanical Adhesion ◽  
Inspection Tasks ◽  
Control System Model ◽  
Different Diameters ◽  
Periodic Inspections

Mmaintenance of wind turbine farms is a huge task, with associated significant risks and potential hazard to the safety and wellbeing of people who are responsible for carrying the tower inspection tasks. Periodic inspections are required for wind turbine tower to ensure that the wind turbines are in full working order, with no signs of potential failure. Therefore, the development of an automated wind tower inspection system has been very crucial for the overall performance of the renewable wind power generation industry. In order to determine the life span of the tower, an investigation of robot design is discussed in this paper. It presents how a mechanical spring-loaded climbing robot can be designed and constructed to climb and rotate 360° around the tower. An adjustable circular shape robot is designed that allows the device to fit in different diameters of the wind generator tower. The rotational module is designed to allow the wheels to rotate and be able to go in a circular motion. The design further incorporates a suspension that allows the robot to go through any obstacle. This paper also presents afiniteelement spring stress analysis and Simulink control system model to find the optimal parameters that are required for the wind tower climbing robot.

Fabrication of 3D Temperature Sensor Using Magnetostrictive Inkjet Printhead

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 50405-1-50405-5
Author(s):  
Young-Woo Park ◽  
Myounggyu Noh
Keyword(s):  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Inkjet Printing ◽  
Temperature Sensor ◽  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Drop On Demand ◽  
Aided Design ◽  
Nanoparticle Ink ◽  
Inkjet Printhead

Abstract Recently, the three-dimensional (3D) printing technique has attracted much attention for creating objects of arbitrary shape and manufacturing. For the first time, in this work, we present the fabrication of an inkjet printed low-cost 3D temperature sensor on a 3D-shaped thermoplastic substrate suitable for packaging, flexible electronics, and other printed applications. The design, fabrication, and testing of a 3D printed temperature sensor are presented. The sensor pattern is designed using a computer-aided design program and fabricated by drop-on-demand inkjet printing using a magnetostrictive inkjet printhead at room temperature. The sensor pattern is printed using commercially available conductive silver nanoparticle ink. A moving speed of 90 mm/min is chosen to print the sensor pattern. The inkjet printed temperature sensor is demonstrated, and it is characterized by good electrical properties, exhibiting good sensitivity and linearity. The results indicate that 3D inkjet printing technology may have great potential for applications in sensor fabrication.

scholarly journals Rain Erosion Maps for Wind Turbines Based on Geographical Locations: A Case Study in Ireland and Britain

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Pugh ◽  
M. M. Stack
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Wind Turbine Blades ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
The Uk

AbstractErosion rates of wind turbine blades are not constant, and they depend on many external factors including meteorological differences relating to global weather patterns. In order to track the degradation of the turbine blades, it is important to analyse the distribution and change in weather conditions across the country. This case study addresses rainfall in Western Europe using the UK and Ireland data to create a relationship between the erosion rate of wind turbine blades and rainfall for both countries. In order to match the appropriate erosion data to the meteorological data, 2 months of the annual rainfall were chosen, and the differences were analysed. The month of highest rain, January and month of least rain, May were selected for the study. The two variables were then combined with other data including hailstorm events and locations of wind turbine farms to create a general overview of erosion with relation to wind turbine blades.

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