Research on the Outer Wall Grinding Robot for Spherical Tanks Based on High-Pressure Waterjet

Spherical tanks are the key storage equipment in the chemical production process. Grinding the outer wall rust layer and performing non-destructive testing are important means to ensure safe operation. Traditional rust removal methods mainly rely on manual labor, which are inefficient as well as seriously harmful to human health and environment. In this paper, a high-pressure waterjet robot system for external rust grinding was designed to replace manual operation of petrochemical spherical tanks. Magnetic wheels were used to realize adsorption and the robot can crawls steadily on the vertical wall of the spherical tank. Meanwhile, a robot anti-fall system was designed to ensure the safety, and a vacuum recovery system was designed to recover rust residue during operation. The application of the robot can sharply reduce the labor intensity and danger of rust removal work, as well as improve the working environment. Test results showed that the grinding effect of the robot met the requirements of subsequent non-destructive testing.