Explosion-Proof Robot

Explosion-proof robot is a special robot designed for flammable and explosive dangerous environments. Through special explosion-proof technology and structural design, it avoids explosions during operation. It is mainly used to replace humans to perform high-risk tasks to ensure personnel safety and stable production environment. The following is a detailed introduction to explosion-proof robots:

I. Core functions and application scenarios

1. Main functions

Environmental detection and monitoring: Real-time detection of flammable and explosive gas concentrations (such as methane, hydrogen), temperature, humidity and other parameters, and early warning of potential risks.

Execution of dangerous operations: Complete inspections, fire extinguishing, leak treatment, equipment maintenance, and material handling in explosive environments to avoid accidents caused by manual operations.

Emergency rescue: In explosion accidents or fires, go deep into dangerous areas to search and rescue personnel, conduct environmental investigations, control fires, etc., to reduce the risk of casualties of rescue personnel.

2. Typical application scenarios

Petrochemical industry: refineries, chemical plants, oil storage depots and other scenarios, used to detect pipeline leaks, tank safety inspections, chemical treatment, etc.

Coal mines and mines: In gas-prone explosive environments, perform tasks such as tunnel inspection, gas concentration monitoring, fire warning, and post-disaster search and rescue.

Hazardous materials handling: Bomb dismantling, waste ammunition disposal, nuclear radiation area operations, etc., complete high-risk tasks through remote control.

Urban security and anti-terrorism: Explosive inspection in public places such as subways and airports, and cooperate with the police to dispose of suspicious items.

Energy field: Natural gas pipeline inspection, offshore platform explosion-proof operations, etc.

II. Key explosion-proof technology and design

1. Explosion-proof structure design

Explosion-proof housing: High-strength metal (such as stainless steel) or flame-retardant engineering plastics are used, and the sealing design prevents sparks from leaking out, which meets explosion-proof standards (such as China GB 3836, international IECEx, etc.).

Intrinsically safe (Ex i): Limit the energy output of electrical equipment to ensure that the electric sparks/thermal effects generated in normal operation or fault conditions are not enough to ignite explosive gases.

Flameproof (Ex d): The housing can withstand the internal explosion pressure and prevent the explosion from spreading to the outside, and is often used for key components such as motors and controllers.

2. Explosion-proof electrical system

Brushless motor and explosion-proof sensor: Use explosion-proof motor and intrinsically safe sensor (such as laser radar, gas detector) to avoid electric sparks.

Anti-static design: Anti-static treatment of fuselage materials to reduce static electricity accumulation caused by friction.

Explosion-proof wireless communication: Use anti-interference explosion-proof wireless module to avoid sparks caused by radio frequency signals.

3. Movement and protection performance

Adapt to complex environment: It has dustproof, waterproof (IP68 grade), high temperature resistance and other characteristics, and is suitable for high dust, humidity, high temperature explosion risk scenes.

Redundant design: Dual power supply and dual control system redundancy to ensure stable operation in extreme environments.

III. Classification and representative products

1. Classification by application environment

Industrial explosion-proof robot: such as chemical plant inspection robot, typical products include ABB IRC5 explosion-proof robot, Sinsun explosion-proof inspection robot.

Coal mine explosion-proof robot: such as gas detection robot, representative products include XCMG XCR100 coal mine inspection robot.

Anti-terrorism and explosion-proof robots: such as bomb disposal robots, famous products include the American iRobot 510 PackBot and the Chinese VIA ET160 bomb disposal robot.

2. Classification by function

Inspection type: Regular patrol to detect environmental parameters, and timely alarm when abnormalities are found, such as explosion-proof inspection robots in the petrochemical industry.

Operation type: Perform specific tasks (such as fire extinguishing and plugging leaks), such as fire-fighting explosion-proof robots (equipped with fire-fighting cannons or mechanical arms).

Rescue type: Used for post-disaster reconnaissance and search and rescue, such as search and rescue robots in earthquakes or explosion accidents.

IV. Technical difficulties and development trends

1. Technical challenges

Balance between explosion-proof and lightweight: High-strength explosion-proof shells may increase the weight of the fuselage, and the structural design needs to be optimized to improve maneuverability.

Complex environment perception: Under harsh conditions such as smoke and dust, the reliability of sensors (such as vision and laser) needs to be further improved.

Remote control and autonomy: Ensure the navigation and communication stability of the robot in strong electromagnetic interference or GPS-free environments.

2. Development Trends

Intelligence and autonomy: Combine AI and machine learning to achieve autonomous path planning, anomaly identification and decision-making, and reduce dependence on manual control.

Multi-machine collaboration: Multiple explosion-proof robots work together (such as group control inspection, joint rescue) to improve task efficiency.

New energy applications: Use explosion-proof lithium batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, etc. to extend battery life and adapt to long-term operation needs.

Miniaturization and modularization: Develop miniaturized explosion-proof robots (such as pipeline inspection micro robots) and support modular function expansion (such as replacing different operating tools).

V. Industry standards and certification

Explosion-proof robots must pass strict explosion-proof certification. Common standards include:

China: GB 3836 series (electrical equipment for explosive environments), GB 12476 series (electrical equipment for combustible dust environments).

International: IEC 60079 (explosive gas environments), IEC 61241 (combustible dust environments).

Europe and the United States: ATEX certification (EU), UL 913 (US intrinsically safe equipment standard).

Summary

Explosion-proof robots are an important guarantee for safe production in high-risk industries. Through technological innovation, their reliability, intelligence level and environmental adaptability are continuously improved. In the future, they will replace humans to perform key tasks in more scenarios and promote the popularization of "unmanned and less-manned" safe operation modes.