Large capacity drones first used for power grid infrastructure transportation in Huangqi Town | helicopters | power grid
On July 1st, an unmanned helicopter took off from the Huangqi Town site of the 500kV Chengde North Station to Fukang Converter Station double circuit transmission line project in Fengning Manchu Autonomous County, Hebei Province. This is the first time in China that a heavy-duty unmanned helicopter has been successfully applied to the transportation of materials for 500kV ultra-high voltage power grid infrastructure projects. During the homework process, after 20 minutes of takeoff, the helicopter ascended along a steep mountain ridge and successfully placed the 208 kilograms of tower material being lifted smoothly next to the poured iron tower foundation on the mountaintop. Then, it returned to the material yard for hovering. The ground loading personnel quickly hooked up the second batch of pre packaged materials and immediately began the second lifting transportation.
The special environment of this assignment provides a place for heavy-duty unmanned helicopters to be used. The transmission line project is located in a mountainous area with complex terrain and significant undulations. Traditional transportation methods such as cableways or people carrying horses on their backs pose high safety risks, and the construction progress is difficult to guarantee. "The flight platform can cross complex terrain in a straight line and lift materials to the top tower pile position, which has advantages such as safety, reliability, flexibility, and no terrain restrictions." Cheng Haitao, Deputy Director of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Department of the Space Technology Center of State Grid Space Technology Company, said that using helicopter long rope slings, lifting materials can basically cover various types of insulators, tower materials, fittings, and other materials and tools.
It is understood that the SG-400 helicopter, independently developed by China and specifically designed for power grid engineering applications, participated in the operation. The wing has a wingspan of 3.46 meters and a fuselage length of 2.55 meters. It adopts a self-developed flight control system and turboshaft engine. Through a longitudinal twin rotor design, the two rotors rotate in the opposite direction to overcome reverse torque, without the need for a tail rotor, making it more suitable for complex terrain environments. With a load of 210 kilograms, the helicopter can still last for several hours.
The helicopter has a self-designed material grounding hook and unhooking method. During lifting operations, the ground loader hangs the electric materials that have been bundled and placed on the ground onto the end hook of the long rope sling. At the delivery point, the helicopter can use precise delivery devices to automatically unhook and place materials according to the force changes after they touch the ground. It maintains uninterrupted transportation operations during the endurance time, avoiding the consumption of starting and stopping equipment time caused by landing, and improving efficiency by more than three times compared to traditional lifting methods.
On July 1st, an unmanned helicopter took off from the Huangqi Town site of the 500kV Chengde North Station to Fukang Converter Station double circuit transmission line project in Fengning Manchu Autonomous County, Hebei Province. This is the first time in China that a heavy-duty unmanned helicopter has been successfully applied to the transportation of materials for 500kV ultra-high voltage power grid infrastructure projects. During the homework process, after 20 minutes of takeoff, the helicopter ascended along a steep mountain ridge and successfully placed the 208 kilograms of tower material being lifted smoothly next to the poured iron tower foundation on the mountaintop. Then, it returned to the material yard for hovering. The ground loading personnel quickly hooked up the second batch of pre packaged materials and immediately began the second lifting transportation.
The special environment of this assignment provides a place for heavy-duty unmanned helicopters to be used. The transmission line project is located in a mountainous area with complex terrain and significant undulations. Traditional transportation methods such as cableways or people carrying horses on their backs pose high safety risks, and the construction progress is difficult to guarantee. "The flight platform can cross complex terrain in a straight line and lift materials to the top tower pile position, which has advantages such as safety, reliability, flexibility, and no terrain restrictions." Cheng Haitao, Deputy Director of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Department of the Space Technology Center of State Grid Space Technology Company, said that using helicopter long rope slings, lifting materials can basically cover various types of insulators, tower materials, fittings, and other materials and tools.
It is understood that the SG-400 helicopter, independently developed by China and specifically designed for power grid engineering applications, participated in the operation. The wing has a wingspan of 3.46 meters and a fuselage length of 2.55 meters. It adopts a self-developed flight control system and turboshaft engine. Through a longitudinal twin rotor design, the two rotors rotate in the opposite direction to overcome reverse torque, without the need for a tail rotor, making it more suitable for complex terrain environments. With a load of 210 kilograms, the helicopter can still last for several hours.
The helicopter has a self-designed material grounding hook and unhooking method. During lifting operations, the ground loader hangs the electric materials that have been bundled and placed on the ground onto the end hook of the long rope sling. At the delivery point, the helicopter can use precise delivery devices to automatically unhook and place materials according to the force changes after they touch the ground. It maintains uninterrupted transportation operations during the endurance time, avoiding the consumption of starting and stopping equipment time caused by landing, and improving efficiency by more than three times compared to traditional lifting methods.
