Optimal design and stress analysis of the transmission line inspection robot along the ground line

Abstract

Most of the previous literatures of the transmission line inspection robot along the ground wire tend to focus on the obstacle‐surmounting method and motion characteristics. There is less research on the mechanics calculation of the corresponding ground wire. Most of the existing robots are designed with the wheel‐claw mechanism. There is less research on other types of robots. A caterpillar track robot along the ground line is designed in this study. The optimisation design of the obstacle‐surmounting method is carried out. The typical 500 kV transmission line model is established. The stress of the ground wire in the process of robot moving along the ground wire is calculated and analysed under different control climate conditions with the help of the finite element method. The results show that the stress of the ground line has a certain safety margins. However, it may exceed the safety range under harsh climate conditions when the transmission line has heavy gradient. The inspection robot operations need reasonable planning according to the calculation results and the transmission line conditions.