Fan blade lightning arrester detection self-growing soft robot

Abstract

The application discloses a fan blade lightning receptor detection self-growth soft robot, which is internally fixed with a storage bin, a double-layer main body, a long steering mechanism, an auxiliary motor and a lead control motor; the growth steering mechanism is composed of three pairs of gear pairs and three pairs of main motors, the rotation speeds of the three pairs of main motors are controlled, the three pairs of gear pairs have a certain speed difference, and thus the control of the growth direction of the double-layer main body is realized; the storage bin is a double-layer cylindrical cavity and is used for storing the to-be-grown parts of the double-layer main body; the double-layer main body which has not grown in the storage bin is transported to the front end through the growth steering mechanism to grow; and the gap between the double-layer cylindrical cavities is used for the growth of the grounding instrument lead. The application realizes the rapid, efficient and safe detection of the fan blade, avoids the staff casualties or the introduction of large measurement errors caused by the detection equipment precision and human operation errors, and simultaneously provides the application possibility of the self-growth soft robot on the fan detection operation and maintenance equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of robots, and in particular to a self-growing soft robot for detecting lightning receptors on wind turbine blades. Background Art

[0002] Blade lightning arrester grounding continuity testing is an important task in routine maintenance of wind turbines. However, this testing task also faces problems such as poor detection accuracy, complex operation and delayed measurement information processing.

[0003] Mainstream wind turbines use fiberglass composite blades. These blades are inherently non-conductive and located at the highest point of the turbine, making them the most vulnerable component to lightning damage. To address this issue, the industry generally employs a lightning protection solution that involves installing lightning receptors on the blade surface and routing down conductors internally. Lightning receptors play a crucial role in the overall blade lightning protection solution, ensuring effective lightning protection while also withstanding the complex mechanical effects of lightning. After prolonged exposure to outdoor environments for several months, the surface resistance of blade lightning receptors often exceeds 200mΩ. Corrosion of these receptors can degrade their lightning protection performance.

[0004] To maintain the lightning protection performance of air terminals, they require various tests, including measuring soil resistance with a soil resistance tester and testing the insulation resistance between the grounding system and other equipment or circuits. Currently, these tests require personnel to climb to the air terminal locations on wind turbine blades to perform resistance and continuity tests on the grounding circuits. This presents two challenges: First, the portable testing equipment carried by personnel lacks accuracy, and contact between personnel and the equipment introduces additional contact resistance, affecting the accuracy of test results. Second, air terminals are located at both the root and tip of the blades, which are small and difficult for personnel to reach. Currently, blade tip air terminal testing is often performed externally using a hanging basket, which is inefficient, costly, and carries the risk of injury or death. Therefore, a self-growing soft robot that rapidly performs ground continuity testing of air terminals inside blades is crucial for improving automated blade inspection, reducing maintenance costs, and minimizing the risks of blade inspection. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a self-growing soft robot for detecting lightning rods on wind turbine blades, so as to realize fast, efficient and safe detection of wind turbine blades, avoid casualties of workers or large measurement errors introduced due to the accuracy of detection equipment and human operation errors, and at the same time propose a rust removal method and measurement connection method for lightning rods by the self-growing soft robot.

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0007] A self-growing soft robot for detecting lightning receptors on wind turbine blades, comprising a hollow cylindrical base, a double-layer body, and a grounding instrument lead;

[0008] A storage bin, a growth steering mechanism, an auxiliary motor, and a lead control motor are fixed inside the base, wherein the growth steering mechanism is fixed at the front end, the storage bin is fixed in the middle, and the auxiliary motor and the lead control motor are fixed at the rear end;

[0009] The double-layer body is a double-layer cylindrical body with a hollow interior, fixed to the front end of the base. The double-layer body is divided into an outer layer body and an inner layer body. The inner layer body is nested in the outer layer body, wherein the outer layer body is fixedly connected to the base, and the inner layer body and the outer layer body are stored in the storage compartment. The inner layer body is wrapped and fixed with the auxiliary motor, and a flexible high-friction coefficient film is provided on the surface of the inner layer body.

[0010] The growth steering mechanism is composed of three pairs of gear pairs and three pairs of main motors. The three pairs of main motors respectively control the rotation of the three pairs of gear pairs. The three pairs of gear pairs are located at the front end of the storage bin and are distributed 120 degrees along the circumference. The three pairs of gear pairs are meshed with each other to control the overall growth of the double-layer body. By controlling the speed of the three pairs of main motors, the three pairs of gear pairs can have a certain speed difference, thereby realizing the control of the growth direction of the double-layer body.

[0011] The grounding instrument lead is wound, fixed and controlled by the lead control motor, passing through the storage bin and the double-layer body. A contact is fixed at the front end of the grounding instrument lead, and a contact control line is integrated into the grounding instrument lead.

[0012] The storage bin is a double-layer cylindrical cavity, which is used to store the part to be grown of the double-layer body, wherein the outer cylindrical cavity stores the outer body, and the inner cylindrical cavity stores the inner body. The ungrown double-layer body in the storage bin is transported to the front end through the growth steering mechanism for growth. The gap between the double-layer cylindrical cavities is used for the grounding instrument lead to pass through for growth.

[0013] As a further optimization of this technical solution, the grounding instrument has two leads, which are distributed 180° along the circumference and staggered with the three pairs of gears to ensure that the growth speed is controlled by the lead control motor.

[0014] As a further optimization of the present technical solution, the contact contains an electromagnet, and the two contacts are controlled to attract each other by powering on.

[0015] A method for removing rust and measuring a wind turbine blade lightning receptor by a self-growing soft robot includes: a wind turbine blade lightning receptor detection self-growing robot carrying a grounding instrument lead from the ground enters the blade from the root, and controls the growth of a double-layer body and turns to avoid obstacles using three pairs of main motors. Upon reaching the lightning receptor, an auxiliary motor controls the inner layer of the double-layer body to grow, bringing it into contact with the lightning receptor. While the three pairs of main motors control the overall forward growth of the double-layer body, the inner layer utilizes the air pressure within the cavity to wrap around and clamp the lightning receptor. The auxiliary motor reverses, pulling the inner side of the inner layer back while removing rust from the lightning receptor using friction. After removing rust from the lightning receptor, the auxiliary motor continues to reverse, creating a certain space within the inner layer. Simultaneously, a contact control line integrated in the grounding instrument lead controls the electromagnets within the two contacts, causing the two contacts to attract each other and clamp the lightning receptor, thereby measuring the grounding resistance of the lightning receptor.

[0016] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0017] The self-growing soft robot of this invention possesses excellent maneuverability in confined spaces, and its rapid growth rate enables highly efficient operation. An integrated gear pair allows for precise control of the growth and steering of the double-layered body. The double-layered design integrates rust removal and measurement connection functions. This enables rapid, efficient, and safe inspection of wind turbine blades, avoiding casualties and significant measurement errors caused by equipment inaccuracy and human error. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the distribution of gear pairs and grounding instrument leads;

[0020] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of the double-layer main body in the base;

[0021] Figure 4 It is a structural diagram of the growth process of the double-layer main body;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the inner layer positioning contact lightning receptor in a double layer body;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a structural diagram of the process of double-layer main body wrapping and clamping the lightning receptor;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a structural diagram of the auxiliary motor reversing and pulling the inner layer body to achieve friction rust removal;

[0025] Figure 8This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the lead contact magnetically clamping the lightning arrester to realize the measurement process;

[0026] Description of the accompanying drawings: base 1, storage bin 11, growth steering mechanism 12, auxiliary motor 13, lead control motor 14, double-layer body 2, outer body 21, inner body 22, grounding instrument lead 3, contact 31, lightning receptor 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] like Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 、 Figure 4 As shown, a self-growing soft robot for detecting wind turbine blade lightning receptors includes a hollow cylindrical base 1, a double-layer body 2, and a grounding instrument lead 3; a storage bin 11, a growth steering mechanism 12, an auxiliary motor 13, and a lead control motor 14 are fixed inside the base 1, wherein the growth steering mechanism 12 is fixed at the front end, the storage bin 11 is fixed in the middle, and the auxiliary motor 13 and the lead control motor 14 are fixed at the rear end.

[0029] The double-layer body 2 is a double-layer cylindrical body as a whole, hollow inside, and fixed to the front end of the base 1; the double-layer body 2 is divided into an outer layer body 21 and an inner layer body 22, and the inner layer body 22 is nested in the outer layer body 21, wherein the outer side of the outer layer body 21 is fixedly connected to the base 1, and the inner side of the outer layer body 21 and the outer side of the inner layer body 22 are stored in the storage bin 11, and the inner side of the inner layer body 22 is wound and fixed with the auxiliary motor 13, and a layer of flexible high friction coefficient film is provided on the surface of the inner layer body 22.

[0030] The growth steering mechanism 12 is composed of three pairs of gear pairs and three pairs of main motors. The three pairs of main motors respectively control the rotation of the three pairs of gear pairs. The three pairs of gear pairs are located at the front end of the storage bin 11 and are distributed 120° along the circumference. The overall growth of the double-layer body 2 is controlled by the mutual engagement of the three pairs of gears. By controlling the rotational speed of the three pairs of main motors, the three pairs of gear pairs can have a certain rotational speed difference, thereby realizing the control of the growth direction of the double-layer body 2.

[0031] The grounding instrument lead 3 is wound, secured, and controlled by a lead control motor 14. It passes through the storage bin 11 and the double-layer body 2. A contact 31 is fixed at the front end of the grounding instrument lead 3, and a contact control line is integrated into the grounding instrument lead 3. There are two grounding instrument leads 3, staggered 180° along the circumference and aligned with three pairs of gears, ensuring that their growth rate can be controlled by the lead control motor 14. The contacts 31 contain electromagnets, which are controlled by powering them to attract each other.

[0032] The storage bin 11 is a double-layer cylindrical cavity, which is used to store the part to be grown of the double-layer body 2, wherein the outer cylindrical cavity stores the outer layer body 21, and the inner cylindrical cavity stores the inner layer body 22. The ungrown double-layer body 2 in the storage bin 11 is transported to the front end through the growth steering mechanism 12 for growth, and the gap between the double-layer cylindrical cavities is used for the grounding instrument lead 3 to pass through for growth.

[0033] Constant pressure gas is input into the base 1 as the driving force for the movement of the double-layer body 2 .

[0034] By controlling the rotation of three pairs of gear pairs through three pairs of main motors in the growth steering mechanism 12, the forward growth of the double-layer body 2 can be achieved, and the growth rate can be controlled by the speed of the main motor; by adjusting the speed difference of the three pairs of gear pairs, the deflection of the double-layer body 2 in the corresponding direction can be achieved, and the deflection angle can be controlled by the speed difference of the gear pairs.

[0035] like Figure 5 、 Figure 6 As shown, the overall growth of the double-layer body 2 stops after approaching the lightning receptor 4, and the auxiliary motor 13 is controlled to enable the inner body 22 to continue to grow forward until it contacts the lightning receptor 4. After the inner body 22 contacts the lightning receptor 4, the growth stops, the auxiliary motor 13 stops rotating, and the double-layer body 2 continues to grow by controlling the gear pair. As it grows, the air pressure in the cavity of the inner body 22 can wrap the surface of the inner body 22 around the lightning receptor 4, generating a certain frictional resistance between the inner body 22 and the lightning receptor 4, causing the inner body 22 to clamp the lightning receptor 4.

[0036] like Figure 7 、 Figure 8 As shown, by reversing the auxiliary motor 13 to pull back the surface of the inner layer body 22, the surface of the flasher 4 can be derusted under the action of friction. The derusting operation can be repeated to reduce subsequent measurement errors.

[0037] After the rust removal is completed, the polarity of the electromagnet inside the two contacts 31 at the front end of the grounding instrument lead 3 is controlled so that they attract each other and the lightning receptor 4 can be clamped, thereby enabling resistance measurement.

[0038] The grounding instrument lead 3 is sandwiched between the double-layer body 2 and grows along with the double-layer body 2. To ensure that the growth rate of the grounding instrument lead 3 is consistent with that of the double-layer body 2, the growth rate of the grounding instrument lead 3 is controlled by the lead control motor 14.

Claims

1. A self-growing soft robot for detecting lightning receptors on wind turbine blades, characterized in that: It includes a hollow cylindrical base (1), a double-layer body (2), and a grounding instrument lead (3); A storage bin (11), a growth steering mechanism (12), an auxiliary motor (13), and a lead control motor (14) are fixed inside the base (1), wherein the growth steering mechanism (12) is fixed at the front end, the storage bin (11) is fixed at the middle, and the auxiliary motor (13) and the lead control motor (14) are fixed at the rear end; The double-layer body (2) is a double-layer cylindrical body with a hollow interior, and is fixed to the front end of the base (1); the double-layer body (2) is divided into an outer layer body (21) and an inner layer body (22), and the inner layer body (22) is nested in the outer layer body (21), wherein the outer side of the outer layer body (21) is fixedly connected to the base (1), the inner side of the outer layer body (21) and the outer side of the inner layer body (22) are stored in the storage bin (11), and the inner side of the inner layer body (22) is wound and fixed with the auxiliary motor (13), and a layer of flexible high friction coefficient film is provided on the surface of the inner layer body (22); The growth steering mechanism (12) is composed of three pairs of gear pairs and three pairs of main motors. The three pairs of main motors respectively control the rotation of the three pairs of gear pairs. The three pairs of gear pairs are located at the front end of the storage bin (11) and are distributed 120 degrees along the circumference. The three pairs of gear pairs are engaged with each other to control the overall growth of the double-layer body (2). By controlling the rotation speed of the three pairs of main motors, the three pairs of gear pairs can have a certain rotation speed difference, thereby realizing the control of the growth direction of the double-layer body (2); The grounding instrument lead (3) is wound, fixed and controlled to grow by a lead control motor (14), passes through the storage bin (11) and the double-layer body (2), a contact (31) is fixed at the front end of the grounding instrument lead (3), and a contact control line is integrated in the grounding instrument lead (3); the grounding instrument lead (3) has two leads, which are staggered 180 degrees along the circumference and with three pairs of gears, ensuring that the growth rate can be controlled by the lead control motor (14); The storage bin (11) is a double-layer cylindrical cavity for storing the portion of the double-layer body (2) to be grown, wherein the outer cylindrical cavity stores the outer body (21), and the inner cylindrical cavity stores the inner body (22). The ungrown double-layer body (2) in the storage bin (11) is transported to the front end through the growth steering mechanism (12) for growth, and the gap between the double-layer cylindrical cavities is used for the grounding instrument lead (3) to pass through for growth.

2. The self-growing soft robot for detecting lightning receptors on wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that: The contact (31) contains an electromagnet inside, and the two contacts (31) are controlled to attract each other by powering on.

3. A method for rust removal and measurement of wind turbine blade lightning receptor detection using a self-growing soft robot, characterized in that: The wind turbine blade lightning receptor detection self-growing soft robot according to any one of claims 1 to 2 comprises: the wind turbine blade lightning receptor detection self-growing robot carries the grounding instrument lead (3) on the ground and enters the inside of the blade from the root of the blade, controls the growth of the double-layer body (2) and turns to avoid obstacles through three pairs of main motors, and after reaching the vicinity of the lightning receptor (4), controls the growth of the inner layer of the double-layer body (2) through the auxiliary motor (13) so that it contacts the lightning receptor (4), and controls the overall forward growth of the double-layer body (2) through the three pairs of main motors, while the inner layer body ( 22) The air pressure in the cavity is used to wrap and clamp the lightning receptor (4), and the auxiliary motor (13) is reversed to pull the inner side of the inner body (22) back while the friction force is used to remove rust from the lightning receptor (4); after the lightning receptor (4) is removed from rust, the auxiliary motor (13) is further reversed to create a certain space inside the inner body (22), and at the same time, the electromagnets inside the two contacts (31) are controlled by the contact control line integrated in the grounding instrument lead, so that the two contacts (31) are attracted to each other and the lightning receptor (4) is clamped, thereby measuring the grounding resistance of the lightning receptor (4).

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