AERIAL CABLE INSPECTION TROLLEY

THE PURPOSE OF THE PHASE I STUDY IS TO DEVELOP A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR A SELF CONTAINED AERIAL CABLE INSPECTION TROLLEY THAT CAN EVALUATE THE CONDITION OF A SUSPENDED 16,000 FOOT, 2 INCH DIAMETER SYNTHETIC CABLE IN 5-10 MINUTES. THE SYSTEM WILL CONSIST OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL INSPECTION MODULES FOR DAMAGE OR DETERIORIZATION IN THE CABLE STRUCTURE, AS WELL AS DATA STORAGE, SUSPENSION AND PROPULSION, POWER DISTRIBUTION, MASTER CONTROL, TELEMETRY, AND REMOTE DISPLAYS AND CONTROLS MODULES. IN RECENT YEARS IMAGE PROCESSING AND PATTERN RECOGNITION TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO RECOGNIZE VARIOUS TYPES OF FLAWS, DEFECTS, OR OTHER TYPES OF DEFINED PATTERNS IN INDUSTRY. THESE REAL TIME INSPECTION SYSTEMS HAVE BECOME FEASIBLE DUE TO THE EVOLUTION OF HIGH-RESOLUTION LINE-SCAN CAMERAS AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE MICRO-PROCESSORS. THE DESIGN APPROACH SELECTED FOR THE AERIAL CABLE INSPECTION TROLLEY IS BASED PRIMARILY ON THIS TYPE OF OPTICAL INSPECTION SYSTEM FOR ACHIEVING A HIGH INTERNAL CONDITION OF THE CABLE AT HIGH SPEED WILL BE INVESTIGATED AND A TRADEOFF EVALUATION PERFORMED. METHODS SUCH AS ULTRASONIC, MICROFOCUS X-RAY, AND CAPACITIVE SENSORS WILL BE SURVEYED FOR THIS APPLICATION. THE INSPECTION MODULES WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO A COMPLETE TROLLEY CONCEPTUAL DESIGN THAT INCLUDES DATA STORAGE, SUSPENSION AND PROPULSION, MASTER CONTROL PROCESSOR, AND DATA TELEMETRY.