Analysis of magnetic attraction force characteristics of wall-climbing robot magnetic wheels based on Maxwell

ZHANG Wenqiang; BIN Guangfu; XU Guangping; YANG Wenming

doi:10.16578/j.issn.1004.2539.2026.01.007

Abstract：[Objective]To address the core problems of traditional magnetic tile-type magnetic wheels in the application of boiler wall-climbing robots,such as unclear magnetic field distribution,redundant safety factors of empirical formulas,low magnet utilization rate,and excessive weight,a magnetic tile arrangement scheme was identified with better magnetic attraction in the N-S alternating arrangement under the same volume and mass constraints.The differences in magnetic field distribution and magnetic attraction force magnitude when the magnetic wheel pressed against three versus two boiler water-cooled wall tubes were also clarified.[Methods]Taking a water-cooled wall inspection robot for thermal power plant boilers as an example,four magnetic wheel models with the same external dimensions but different magnet arrangement modes were established.Using Maxwell software,simulation analysis of the magnetic attraction force of these four magnetic wheels with different structures was conducted at a distance of 2 mm from the water-cooled wall tubes.[Results]The results show that the adsorption force of the magnetic wheel on the water-cooled wall tube is 5%-20%greater when adsorbed at the joint of the magnetic tiles than at the middle of the magnetic tiles.When adsorbed at the middle of the magnetic tiles,regardless of whether the magnetic wheel presses against three or two wall tubes,the magnetic wheel with the 4-magnetic-tile arrangement exhibits the maximum attraction.Additionally,the adsorption force when pressing against three water-cooled wall tubes is approximately 10%-20%greater than that when pressing against two tubes.