Biomimetic spider de-icing robot and method for wind turbine blades

Abstract

Provision of a biomimetic spider de-icing robot and work method for wind turbine blades. [Solution] The robot includes a parent robot, spider legs 4, a travel mechanism, two sets of child robots, and a de-icing mechanism. The spider legs 4 are attached to the parent robot and provide the robot with the necessary suction force when working on the blade. The travel mechanism is used to improve the robot's movement speed when the spider legs 4 are not in use. The de-icing mechanism enables the robot to complete non-destructive de-icing work on the wind turbine blades. While working, the child robots dock with the child robot on the opposite side and orbit the wind turbine blades to form a cable track. This allows the robot to orbit the wind turbine blades and de-ic using only the travel mechanism, without relying on the spider legs 4, improving the efficiency of blade de-icing and enhancing the safety of the robot de-icing work.

Claims

1. A biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades, Parent robot and Multiple spider legs (4) are fixedly attached to the parent robot and used to allow the parent robot to climb from the wind turbine body to the base (11) of the wind turbine blade (1), A travel mechanism installed on the parent robot and used to move the parent robot on the surface of the wind turbine blade (1), Two sets of sub-robots (7) are detachably installed inside both ends of the parent robot, each set of sub-robots (7) is fixedly connected to a towing mechanism via a cable (72), the towing mechanism is fixedly installed inside the parent robot, and the two sets of sub-robots (7), detached from the parent robot, can engage with each other at adjacent positions in the circumferential direction of the wind turbine blade (1), and the two sets of sub-robots (7) engage with each other with the cable (72) wrapped around the wind turbine blade (1) to form an adjustable annular band, the adjustable annular band is used to prevent the two sets of sub-robots (7) from falling when the parent robot moves along the surface of the wind turbine blade (1), A biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades, characterized by including a de-icing mechanism installed on the parent robot and used to remove ice from the surface of the wind turbine blade (1).

2. The child robot (7) comprises a chassis (74) and a body (75) installed at the top of the chassis (74), one end of the body (75) is fixedly connected to the traction mechanism via the cable (72), a coupler (77) is installed at the other end of the body (75), four stepping motors (79) are fixedly installed on the chassis (74), the four stepping motors (79) are installed in pairs on the long side of the chassis (74), and the output shafts of each pair of stepping motors (79) are The biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that each is fixedly connected to a gear (710), crawlers (711) are dynamically meshed with the outside of two identical sets of gears (710), a vacuum pump II (712) is fixedly connected to the top of the body (75), the intake port of the vacuum pump II (712) is fixedly connected to one end of a vacuum suction tube II (713), and the other end of the vacuum suction tube II (713) penetrates the chassis (74) and is fixedly connected to a suction cup II (714).

3. The biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to claim 2, characterized in that the coupler (77) includes a coupler body, one end of the coupler body is fixedly connected to the body (75), the other end of the coupler body is rotatably connected to a coupler knuckle (772) via a pin (771), a lock pin (773) is installed on the coupler body, the lock pin (773) is fixedly connected to the telescopic end of a telescopic rod (78), and the fixed end of the telescopic rod (78) is fixedly connected to the body (75).

4. The biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to claim 2, characterized in that a transformer (715) and a backup power supply (716) are installed inside the body (75), a camera (76) is further fixedly connected to the outer wall of the body (75), and the camera (76) and the coupler (77) are located at the same end of the body (75).

5. The biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to claim 2, characterized in that the towing mechanism includes a towing machine (73), the towing machine (73) is fixedly installed inside the parent robot, the towing machine (73) is fixedly connected to one end of the cable (72), the cable (72) is housed inside the towing machine (73), and the other end of the cable (72) is fixedly connected to the body (75).

6. The biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that the spider legs (4) include a three-stage mechanical body (43), one end of the three-stage mechanical body (43) is rotatably connected to a mechanical leg base (42), the mechanical leg base (42) is fixedly installed on the parent robot, servo motors (44) are installed at the joints of the three-stage mechanical body (43), the other end of the three-stage mechanical body (43) is fixedly connected to a suction cup I (45), the suction cup I (45) is fixedly connected to one end of a vacuum suction tube I (46), the other end of the vacuum suction tube I (46) is fixedly connected to the intake port of a vacuum pump I (41), and the vacuum pump I (41) is fixedly installed on the parent robot.

7. The biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that the travel mechanism includes a dual output shaft motor (51), the dual output shaft motor (51) is fixedly installed on the parent robot, and one of the output shafts of the dual output shaft motor (51) is fixedly connected to a wheel (5).

8. The biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that the de-icing mechanism includes a main battery (61), the main battery (61) is fixedly installed inside the parent robot, the main battery (61) is electrically connected to an ultrasonic generator (6), and the ultrasonic generator (6) is fixedly installed on the side wall of the parent robot near the surface of the wind turbine blade (1).

9. The biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that the parent robot comprises one rectangular plate (31) and two arc-shaped plates (3), the two arc-shaped plates (3) are rotatably connected to both ends of the rectangular plate (31) via a metal member (32), a movable clamp plate (71) is rotatably connected to the arc-shaped plates (3), the child robot (7) is detachably mounted on the movable clamp plate (71), and a casing (2) is installed at the top ends of the rectangular plate (31) and the arc-shaped plates (3).

10. A method for operating a biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to any one of claims 1 to 9, The process involves the parent robot crawling up from the wind turbine body to the base of the blade (11), and the child robot (7) at one end detaching from the parent robot and being fixed to the surface of the blade base (11) by suction, The process involves the parent robot circling the blade root (11) and moving to the opposite side of the child robot (7) fixed to the surface of the blade root (11), after which the other child robot (7) on the parent robot detaches from the parent robot, the child robot (7) that was suction-fixed to the surface of the blade root (11) releases its suction, engages with the other child robot (7) to form an adjustable annular band, the adjustable annular band is in a relaxed state, and the parent robot drives the child robot (7) and the adjustable annular band to move to the de-icing position, The process involves the sub-robot (7) being attached to and fixed to the de-icing surface of the wind turbine blade (1), and the adjustable annular band changing from a relaxed state to a taut state, A method for operating a biomimetic spider de-icing robot for wind turbine blades according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by comprising the step of the parent robot's spider legs (4) retracting, and de-icing the wind turbine blade (1) while circling it, depending on the retraction of the travel mechanism and one traction mechanism and the extension of another traction mechanism.

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