Development of heavy-duty climbing robot with rust removing and recycling system for steel structures

Purpose Steel structures are easily corroded under coastal atmospheric environment due to high humidity and high saltwater spray. To extend service life of steel structure infrastructure, it is necessary to remove rust and apply paint on the steel structure once a year. However, existing wall-climbing sandblasting robots are difficult to work on narrow steel beams and cause serious environmental pollution. The purpose of this study is to design a robot that can effectively remove rust from narrow steel beams and reduce environmental impact to extend the service life of steel structure infrastructure. Design/methodology/approach The heavy-duty wall-climbing robot designed in this study can effectively solve the above problems. The robot achieves adjustable magnetic adsorption force of the permanent magnet adsorption through a novel switch design and can work flexibly and stably on narrow steel beams through a worm-like internal and external alternating motion structure. In addition, it is equipped with a sandblasting recovery device to reduce environmental pollution. Findings The on-site test results on steel beams show that trust removal level can reach Sa2.0. The recovery rate of sandblasting and rust removal is close to 95%. The robot can carry a 40 kg sandblasting equipment and move at a speed greater than 40 cm/min, indicating that it can efficiently complete the rust removal work of narrow steel structures. Originality/value The originality lies in the design of the robot with features such as adjustable magnetic adsorption, special motion structure for narrow beams and a sandblasting recovery device. The value is that it can solve the problems of existing robots in working on narrow steel beams and environmental pollution and effectively extend the service life of steel structure infrastructure by efficiently removing rust.