Using insulated bucket trucks for live-line work offers advantages such as convenient lifting, high mobility, large working range, high mechanical strength, and excellent electrical insulation.
Insulated bucket trucks for live-line work were first developed in Europe and America in the 1930s, and by the 1950s they were widely used in live-line work on power transmission and distribution lines. The insulated boom of the bucket truck is made of glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin, wound into a cylindrical or rectangular cross-section structure, offering advantages such as light weight, high mechanical strength, good insulation performance, and strong hydrophobicity, providing insulation protection to the operator relative to ground during live-line work. The insulated bucket can be single-layered or double-layered. The outer bucket is generally made of epoxy fiberglass, while the inner bucket is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The insulated bucket should have high-strength electrical insulation, forming longitudinal insulation between the bucket and ground together with the insulated boom, ensuring that the leakage current of the entire vehicle is less than 500 kJ/m³. Furthermore, if the insulated bucket simultaneously touches two phase conductors during operation, surface flashover should not occur. The positioning of the working bucket on insulated bucket trucks can be achieved through various methods: some are directly operated by personnel inside the bucket on the upper part of the insulated boom, others are controlled by personnel on the lower driver's platform, and still others allow for hydraulic control of both the upper and lower parts. The working bucket has horizontal and vertical rotation capabilities, allowing it to move horizontally or vertically parallel to power lines or poles. Using insulated bucket trucks for live-line work on power distribution networks is a convenient, flexible, widely applicable, and relatively labor-intensive method.
