Abstract
Mobile robots that are required to climb inclined ferromagnetic surfaces typically employ magnetic wheels. In order to design magnetic wheels and to properly size the permanent magnet as magnetizing source without the need for finite element analyses, a model that predicts the attractive magnetic force is necessary. In this paper, an analytical force model is derived by estimating the reluctance between the wheel and the surface. A magnetic circuit is constructed, incorporating the leakage flux from the side of the wheel. The model is validated against the results from finite element analyses and measurements from a test rig and a wheel prototype. Within the limitations of the model, it can adequately predict the force and can be used for initial design of magnetic wheels.
Highlights
Robots that can climb vertical walls and hold on to surface at any angles are required for many mission-critical applications in hazardous environments such as inspection of pipes and reactor vessels in nuclear power plant, welding in ship building, and inspection of dry storage casks for spent fuel rods
We propose a model that predicts the attractive force of a magnetic wheel pair by combining analytical approach with magnetic circuit method
When compared to the results from finite element analyses (FEA), the model overestimates the force if the tire thickness is small, and shows slight underestimation if the tire thickness is more than 0.4 mm
Summary
Robots that can climb vertical walls and hold on to surface at any angles are required for many mission-critical applications in hazardous environments such as inspection of pipes and reactor vessels in nuclear power plant, welding in ship building, and inspection of dry storage casks for spent fuel rods. Past efforts to design a magnetic wheel include a rule-of-thumb approach [7] and finite element analyses (FEA) [2,3]. It is rather difficult to accurately model the magnetic field distribution between the wheel and surface due to rapid change in field around the contact area. We propose a model that predicts the attractive force of a magnetic wheel pair by combining analytical approach with magnetic circuit method. This model estimates the reluctance of the air gap between the wheel and surface based on flux lines conforming to the boundary conditions of field equations. The validity of the model is verified through FEA and tests
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