Adaptive climbing and automatic inspection robot for variable curvature walls of industrial storage tank facilities

Abstract

Regular inspections are essential to ensure the safe operation of petrochemical storage tank facilities, but traditional manual operations in high-altitude construction environments are inefficient and hazardous. To achieve automated inspection and maintenance of the tank walls, this paper proposes an adaptive climbing inspection robot for variable curvature walls. The inspection robot with magnetic adsorption wheels, curvature-adaptive mechanisms, and inclination adjustment structure was meticulously designed, featuring multifunctional inspection and maintenance capabilities. Robot climbing dynamics and posture adaptability on curved surfaces were analyzed and evaluated. The experimental results demonstrate the robot's ability to adaptively operate on curved tank walls and perform multifunctional tasks, including time-of-flight diffraction (TOFD) ultrasonic flaw detection, polishing, painting, and cleaning. The developed robot can significantly enhance the efficiency of automated inspection operation on curved tank facility walls. Future research should focus on enhancing the robot's adaptability to irregular welded surfaces and improving its defect recognition performance.