Design and Analysis of A Traction-Type Large-Load Cable-Stayed Inspection Robot

Stayed cables are important load-bearing structures of bridges, and their safety has always been the focus of attention. To solve the defects of traditional cable-stayed bridge cable inspection robots such as low load capacity and poor reliability. This paper presents a self-towing cable-stayed robot. First, an independent frame-type climbing mobile robot is designed as a heavy-duty mechanism. Furthermore, the self-traction mechanism, spring obstacle-surmounting mechanism, and self-locking structure including the winch drive is designed; Secondly, a dynamic model is established for the obstacle-over-obstacle module of the heavy-duty robot, and the superiority of the robot in the obstacle-over-obstacle process is analyzed; Thirdly, The kinematics and dynamics of the heavy-duty robot during the climbing process are analyzed, and then the stability of the robot is verified through the fuzzy variable gain PID control algorithm. Through the verification analysis, the heavy-duty robot can carry a payload of more than 45kg and climb stably on a cable with a diameter of 90mm under the vibration of the cable.

I. Introduction

Bridge cables are an important part of cable-stayed bridge facilities. The cables are exposed to the air for a long time. With the increase in their service time, the PE layer on the surface of the cables is prone to aging and severe damage due to external forces [1]. Bridge cables require frequent inspections to monitor their structural health promptly for the repair and maintenance of cable-stayed bridges. Fig. 1.

Climbing design of a self-tracking robot