15-01-2014, 12:51 PM
Advanced Robotic Technologies for Steel Bridge Maintenance
ABSTRACT
Bridges are essential in transport infrastructure worldwide. Corrosion is the primary cause of failure in steel bridges, and is minimized by painting the steel structure. Steel bridge coating maintenance consists of two procedures: the stripping of rust and deteriorated paint and then repainting the steel; and is one of the biggest expenditure items in bridge maintenance activities. An effective and efficient method of paint stripping is grit blasting, and herein lies the critical problem. Grit blasting is extremely labour intensive and hazardous. Workers have to not only spend long periods of time handling forces of 100N and above, but also need to take precautions to avoid exposure to the dust containing hazardous materials and chemicals. Thus supplementing manual labour in grit blasting with robotic aids will have a significant health, safety and economic impact.