Abstract
In this paper, a penstock inspection vehicle which is equipped with an unique movement mechanism and a wireless LAN system is proposed. The vehicle has three technical features. The first is the application of omni-directional wheels which follow automatically the bottom of penstocks. The second is the introduction of two-directional clutch mechanisms which can achieve both to idling of shafts and to driving of wheels. The third is the use of a special antenna system which mounts microwave absorbers in order to reduce the communication failure in multi-path environment. As the experimental results of the penstock of “A” hydroelectric power station, it is verified that the special antenna system enables the wireless LAN communication over the transmission distance 760 meters. In addition to this, basic effectiveness of the movement mechanism is confirmed. On the other hand, it revealed that there are some technical issues both on movement over expansion joint and on stitching equipment images.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
