Novel Power Line Grasping Mechanism with Integrated Energy Harvester for UAV applications

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been introduced in the energy domain to solve complex tasks involving operations in close proximity to active power lines. Previous research by the authors explore how to grasp such power lines to secure a split-core transformer around the conductor, and hereby harvest energy to recharge the UAVs batteries towards continuous operation. However, no previous research investigate how to integrate an energy harvester (current transformer) into a mechanical grasping solution for a UAV system. In this work, the authors present a novel approach to an integrated mechanism prioritizing low weight for extended flight time. By utilizing the strong electromagnetic forces, the system prove opportunity for further optimization and adoption in other use cases across the UAV domain as well.

Adaptive and Fail-Safe Magnetic Gripper with Charging Function for Drones on Power Lines

“…to rotate the core, the proposed design takes advantage of the drone's motors to close and the drone's weight to open the core, resulting in a more lightweight grasping system. The new gripper weighs 1kg which is lighter than the system in the authors' previous works in [3] (2.82kg) and [20] (1.22kg).…”

“…Fig. 1: The proposed magnetic gripper while engaging with the power line For the transmission line application, a number of studies focused on designing grippers enabling drones to perch on the overhead power lines and recharge the battery [2], [3], [20], [21]. However, the grasping systems in these studies are complicated, heavy and do not have a fail-safe feature when the drones fail and get stuck on the power cable.…”

Design of a Wireless Drone Recharging Station and a Special Robot End Effector for Installation on a Power Line

“…The higher the value of permeability, the better the ability to conduct flux. This parameter is defined as the ratio of magnetic flux B to magnetic intensity H -see Equation (31). H is proportional to the sum of the primary and secondary currents according to Ampere's law described in Equation (17).…”

“…A more efficient system is proposed in [29], where the authors managed to extract 350 W from a 700 A power line, but the weight of the magnetic core was up to 7.1 kg. Using a high magnetic flux density, Nicolai et al in [30], [31] developed a very high power density harvester that extracted up to 120 W from an 800 A power line and weighed 1.1 kg (the total mass of the drone is 9.8 kg) based on the theoretical study in [32]. Their system was integrated into a drone and tested on a real power line.…”

A Novel Charging Station on Overhead Power Lines for Autonomous Unmanned Drones

“…However, accommodating the necessary voltage levels is currently economically challenging. Some papers suggest using energy harvesters placed on overhead power lines to enable drone charging by taking advantage of the power grid itself [12,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. However, the reported harvesting technology has significant power limitations and requires further investigation.…”