Cleaning glass insulators is an important task in grid maintenance. Due to the dust in industrial parks and construction sites, along with the wet weather and climate of the Central region, glass insulators are often contaminated and moss-covered. If not cleaned in time, there is a risk of electrical discharge, causing breakdowns and power outages.
Thua Thien Hue PC using remote-controlled robot for hotline insulation cleaning
From the end of 2021, the author group of Thua Thien Hue PC has successfully researched the solution "Research and manufacture remote-controlled robot for cleaning glass insulators with high-pressure insulating water without cutting power". This solution involves the use of a remote-controlled robot with a fixed water gun on the crane, which adjusts the robot's sprinkler in flexible directions through the driver and mechanic parts including bearings, gears, water guns, and electric cylinders. The body of the gun is designed and mounted IP camera and laser ruler to support workers in observing and adjusting the squirt distance to equipment that needs to be insulators-cleaned safely and easily.
The robot is controlled and operated via a controller with RF and wifi transceivers, a joystick for control, and an app on smartphones and tablets.
The solution was successfully applied in Thua Thien Hue PC, making the company the first to deploy the solution among 13 power companies in the Central-Central Highlands under the Central Power Corporation.
In the first 6 months of 2023, for the hotline insulation cleaning without cutting power, the company performed insulation cleaning 45 times of 110kV substations, 67 110kV poles, 804 22kV poles, and 72 22/0.4kV substations, in which glass insulator cleaning with high-pressure insulating water without power cut is done mostly by a remote-controlled robot.
Representative of author group (fourth from the right) receiving Certificate of Merit at Closing and Awarding ceremony of 12th Thua Thien Hue Provincial Technical Innovation Contest in 2022
The author group's solution was awarded the second prize at the 12th Thua Thien Hue Provincial Technical Innovation Contest in 2022.