Mechanism and system design of MAV(Micro Aerial Vehicle)-type wall-climbing robot for inspection of wind blades and non-flat surfaces

Abstract

Wind turbines need annual inspections to investigate their states which may have damages, such as cracks, erosion, bonding defects, cavities and delamination. Wind blades inspection, however, is a difficult process which needs specialized equipment and well-trained technicians to perform it manually. In addition, most approaches to inspect require pre-installed infrastructures like ropes or other platforms, so they are not appropriate for a close investigation and has a low preference. To overcome these problems, the need for a wall-climbing robot has emerged. In this paper, we suggest a MAV (Micro Aerial Vehicle) type wall-climbing robot that has four rotors to make thrust force for flying and four wheels for wall-climbing so that it can fly, stick, and move on a vertical and non-flat surface. The overall inspection process has two parts; macro and micro inspections. The main concept was verified throughout simulations.