Design and Experiments of A Climbing Robot for Inspection of Isolated Phase Bus

Isolated phase bus in hydropower stations is characterized by unique pipeline structures, small operating space, and with vertical and horizontal sections. It is very difficult to manual patrol inspection. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a robot that can perform inspection in this special space to replace manual work. In this article, we propose a novel climbing robot. The robot has a flexible wheel leg structure, which can adapt to different sizes of pipe gaps and complete vertical climbing. We have completed the mechanical modeling of the robot and simulated the structural parameters. Therefore, the design parameters of the robot were determined, and the prototype of the robot were manufactured. Walking experiments were conducted to verify the robots walking ability and inspection ability.