Discussion on Application of Flame thrower UAV in Elimination of High Voltage Line Leave a comment

Flammable floating objects seriously threaten the safety of transmission lines, and even cause the normal power supply of the electrical circuit is affected. The application of the Flame thrower UAV is an innovation in the way of removing flammable hanging objects. The operator can easily complete the clearing operation by remotely controlling the Flame thrower UAV on the ground. This method can guarantee the safety of the staff. , And save a lot of manpower and material resources for the enterprise.

1 Introduction

In order to promote power transmission, a large number of high-voltage lines have been installed all over the country. With the majestic development of power construction, the scale of power grids has continued to expand. The grid system mainly uses high-voltage and ultra-high-voltage overhead lines for long-distance power transmission and distribution. The safety of transmission lines is an important guarantee for the smooth operation of the entire grid system. The construction and maintenance of the grid under high-altitude conditions is also increasing. Transmission lines are easily hung and entangled by foreign objects such as plastic films, kites, advertising banners, etc. In rain and snow, these foreign objects will conduct electricity if they are wetted by water, reducing the line-to-phase distance or the wire-to-ground distance, causing a short circuit between phases. Or single-phase grounding and other problems, which can cause large-scale power outages in severe cases and bring huge economic losses. Therefore, in order to ensure the safe operation of power transmission lines, foreign objects such as plastic films must be cleaned up in time.

The fire-breathing UAV described in this article deals with floating objects on the transmission line when the transmission line is live, which can replace labor, reduce risks, increase efficiency, and reduce losses.

2. Operation analysis of foreign body removal methods in traditional transmission lines

Removal of foreign objects with electricity is the project with the highest safety risk in live operation. There are two traditional methods for removing foreign objects from high-voltage wires: one is to remove personnel from the line after a power outage. This method of operation reduces the reliability of power grid operation and gives users Inconvenience to the production and life of the product, and also cause certain economic losses; the second is the removal of the equipotential live operation, and the use of insulated bucket trucks, insulated operating rods, insulated ropes, or hanging baskets, ladders and other tools under live conditions For manual removal, this kind of live working method is dangerous, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and restricted by the environment.

Both methods require a lot of manpower and material resources, and the operating procedures are complex, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and low safety and reliability. The shortcomings that cannot be ignored during manual operation are risky. Floating objects generally appear high above the wires between the transmission line pitches. Manual operations are very risky; the efficiency is low. When handling floating objects manually climb up from below the tower to the high altitude, and then climb to the floating objects to perform operations. At the same time, due to the variety of foreign objects and winding methods, the workers basically rely on the “on the fly” to deal with the foreign objects during the live operation process, and complete a cleaning of the floating objects. It takes a few hours or so; the loss is large, and some foreign objects are closely entangled with the components of the distribution line. The danger is high. The power transmission workers need to cut off the power of the working part of the circuit during the work.

The reliability of electricity affects people’s lives and will cause huge economic losses during the period.

3. Analysis of Flame thrower UAV Operation

3.1 Industry Application of Flame thrower UAV Operation

Due to the influence of environmental factors, if it encounters rivers, fish ponds, railways, highways and other places that are not easy to reach by technical personnel, it is difficult to carry out electrified treatment of foreign objects. When the environment is more complicated when dealing with foreign objects, it is not possible to effectively apply the method of flipping the insulated rope and the method of insulating operating rods to carry out the charged treatment of foreign objects. At this time, a remote-controlled fire-throwing aircraft is used to handle foreign matter with electricity, and the foreign matter is handled through the remote-control flight function of the aircraft and combined with the fire performance of the fire-breathing gun. The technician controls the aircraft on the ground to fly to the vicinity of the foreign body, and then uses remote ignition to burn the foreign body to achieve the effect of handling the foreign body.

3.2 Main technical solutions

So far, both domestic and foreign wireless remote control technologies are relatively mature, and they have been applied to small wireless remote control aircraft in various industries. Of course, the electric power sector is no exception. The aerial photography function of wireless remote control aircraft can effectively carry out defect finding and daily inspections. This fire-spitting UAV is modified and optimized based on a small multi-rotor UAV platform. The UAV is equipped with fire-spitting equipment to achieve the effect of quickly handling foreign objects.

The fire-throwing device introduced in this article is a special function drone mission vehicle developed specifically to solve the floating objects on the wires between the high-voltage transmission lines. It integrates remote control to control the DC miniature electronic diaphragm oil pump to generate power-off continuous flow The adjustable linear fuel injection cylinder adopts the Tesla coil principle to form an electric arc, and the fuel injection cylinder is ignited by the electric arc to form a working fire beam, which can safely and efficiently carry out live barrier clearance operations in the FPV control mode. The flamethrower of this system weighs 3.2kg. In order to meet the load-bearing requirements, the UAV adopts a 6-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle with a weight of 5.5kg.

The fire spray device adopts a fuel injection component with a controllable flow rate, so that the flow rate of the oil can be adjusted as required, which increases the range, reduces the quality, and simplifies the operation; at the same time, the operation is flexible, the maintenance is simple, and it is suitable for various operations and use environments. The earth improves the efficiency and the effect of removing foreign objects in the wire, and the safety is greatly improved.

3.3 Specification for the flame thrower

Product size:  1400mm*320mm*280mm (expanded) 900mm*320mm*280mm (folded)

Overall weight: 3.2Kg Installation method Quick release power supply mode onboard power supply Power interface:  XT30

Rated voltage: DC 24V

Rated power: 300W

Oil pump power: 270W

Control mode: Independent remote control distance 800M

Maximum flow: 210~300LPH (liter per hour)

Injection distance: 4~6M (under no wind)

Injection oil gasoline 🙁 98# recommended)

Operating environment: -30~40℃

Maximum volume: 5L

Ignition form: High voltage pulse ignition

Vector control angle: pitch ±35°, direction ±35

3.4 Operation method

(1) Open the fuel filler cap and add a small amount of gasoline, turn on the power of the fire sprayer, and check whether the ignition, fuel injection and FPV images are normal.

(2) After confirming that the equipment is normal, inject an appropriate amount of gasoline and close the lid.

(3) Start the equipment and take off to the operation area.

(4) The main pilot controls the aircraft so that the FPV lens of the fire-breathing device is aimed at the target. The distance between the body and the target is 3~5 meters.

(5) The assistant pilot tests fuel injection and ignition, and observes whether it can hit the target through the monitor. If it can hit, you can perform normal operation and perform gap ignition until the floating objects are burned and cleared; if it can’t hit, let the main pilot adjust the position of the aircraft according to the actual situation, and conduct a second pilot fire until the operation can be completed normally, and operate the aircraft after the operation is completed Fly back to land.

3.5 Prospects

The Flame thrower UAV achieves uninterrupted power to the general flammable floating objects on the line, and does not go to the tower.

Quick cleanup greatly improves the efficiency of handling similar high-altitude faults. Combustible obstacles on towers such as bird’s nests with maneuverable flight airspace can also be quickly cleared. In case of severe weather, drones can replace manual operations to clean up hanging objects in time; in some dangerous terrain, drones can also replace manual operations. The convenience of the Flame thrower UAV will be widely used in the cleaning of floating objects on high-voltage lines.