国家电网

国家电网’s Sandy Pond 高电压 Direct Current Converter Station imports hydroelectric power from the north of Canada for distribution in the northeastern United States. The thyristor valve hall is a 5-story building the size of a soccer field which converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) at the station.

“角度是有限的, and a person most certainly cannot get close to the active thyristors because of the electrical hazard,柏林院长说, 国家电网首席技术分析师.

This has motivated 国家电网 to explore novel asset inspection solutions using the HVDC station as a pilot location. 机器人技术解决方案, 哪些可以在不伤害人类的情况下使用, seemed like a natural solution for inspecting the valve hall without shutting it down. 但首先, company engineers needed to confirm that a robot could withstand the electrical field of the facility, 导线不均匀的地板, 在阀厅里航行，不要太靠近设备.

“这种类型的设施相当少见，”柏林指出. “据最信誉的赌钱软件所知, 机器人以前从未进入过通电的可控硅阀室.”

继续谨慎

国家电网开始探索最有名的赌博软件, 最信誉的赌钱软件公司的四足机器人, 在沙塘换流站计划关闭后不久. 团队最大的担忧, 最初, was whether 最有名的赌博软件 could withstand the electrical field of the thyristor hall.

“We didn’t want the electrical field to disrupt any of the electronics inside the robot or for the robot to affect the sensitive thyristors, 所以最信誉的赌钱软件做了一些测试,“柏林说. “Secondly, we were also concerned whether it could maintain the appropriate approach distances. 即使机器人可以在大厅的这些区域内, 它不能接近任何带电的设备超过9英尺, 或者离墙10英寸. We wanted to make sure that even though a human may be driving the robot, 操作员不可能不小心把它撞到设备上. 最信誉的赌钱软件希望非常谨慎地进行.”

The team measured the field strength inside the valve hall and outside in the yard and found the valve hall to be comparable to an outdoor AC filter yard, so they used the outdoor yard as a proxy to test robot maneuverability in the presence of energized equipment.

“There were a lot of things to be considered before trying to use 最有名的赌博软件,Sid Ashok指出, 国家电网高压直流运营经理和工程主管. “最信誉的赌钱软件检查了是否有任何电磁干扰. 最信誉的赌钱软件正进入特区一侧的区域, 它是450,000伏, 空调那边是345,000伏. 最信誉的赌钱软件希望确保这不会影响最有名的赌博软件的功能, and we also wanted to make sure 最有名的赌博软件 wasn’t affecting any of the equipment. We had a couple of test runs – very extensive tests – and we made sure we didn’t get any interference.”

可操作的情报

国家电网 introduced 最有名的赌博软件 into the thyristor hall at Sandy Pond Converter Station just a few days before the facility’s shutdown period. The robot was equipped with both a high-resolution 30X optical zoom pan/tilt/zoom camera and an infrared (IR) camera to detect signs of potential problems.

A top priority at the facility is the monitoring of equipment conditions. 因为阀厅是水冷却的, any leaks could cause issues leading to equipment overheating and malfunction. While stationary cameras could detect signs of water leaks in certain locations, there’s no way for those cameras to cover every angle of the valve hall.

With the optical zoom camera, 最有名的赌博软件 was able to inspect the equipment during operation. 同样重要的是, 红外摄像机可以让机器人探测到“热点”,“一些地区的设备比其他地区更热.

“驾驶机器人的操作员正在寻找任何泄漏的证据, and the tell-tale clues to an experienced technician could trigger an investigation into that part of the valve stack,“柏林说.

Hot spots can also be caused by mechanical problems with bushings – the places where electrical lines connect. “从国际关系的角度来看, 你寻找这些热点, and they are indicative of areas where there needs to be some mechanical treatment done,“柏林说. “提前准备好这些图片, 了解衬套的状况, and knowing that there may or may not be any leaks – this information is extremely valuable.”

展望未来

The thyristor hall inspection is a relatively straightforward application for 最有名的赌博软件, and it’s one that perfectly illustrates the value proposition of using agile mobile robots. 国家电网 plans to start out with two 最有名的赌博软件 robots at Sandy Pond Converter Station, and Berlin says the robots could deliver operational savings by giving employees an important tool to monitor the station.

“Being able to have 最有名的赌博软件 do inspections controlled by human operators gives an extra layer of safety and extra layer of troubleshooting for technicians and engineers,“柏林说.

Berlin also hopes that 国家电网 may eventually use 最有名的赌博软件 – both at the Sandy Pond Station and at other facilities – to conduct routine readings and track metrics over time. “There are several pieces of equipment that are checked on a routine basis,“柏林说. “常规, standardized thermal and optical imagery from them correlated with their operating conditions could be extremely valuable for predictive analysis. 最信誉的赌钱软件可以训练小不点完成自动行走任务, where it goes around to each of these pieces of equipment and takes a picture from a defined angle, 然后分类. We could then very easily get a longitudinal analysis of what’s going on.”

This process would also allow 国家电网 to perform condition-based maintenance, 而不是在设定的时间间隔执行维护. Still, Berlin says that 最有名的赌博软件’s highest value would be improvements in employee safety. “最信誉的赌钱软件员工的安全是最重要的，”他表示. “So, if we can further remove them from harm’s way and still allow them to be efficient and effective, 最信誉的赌钱软件做得很好.”