An intelligent robotics-based solution has halved the time it takes to inspect wind turbine blade defects.
UK start-up BladeBUG said it takes 35 minutes for its advanced BladeBUG advanced robot to be deployed to inspect areas of concern on a turbine blade, up to half the time it would take a human rope access technician.
The BladeBUG provides a fast, safe and cost-effective alternative to rope access technicians inspecting blades.
For onshore turbines, a ground-up approach for deployment is used.
The robot is attached at ground level to a rope lowered by a technician from the top of the turbine, then hoisted into place to inspect the blade.
A top-down approach to deployment works best for offshore turbines.
Because the BladeBUG does not need to be hauled up to the top of the turbine, valuable time is saved when carrying out necessary onshore inspections.
All of the processes required to rig and operate the BladeBUG can be managed by operations technicians with basic GWO Working at Height training.
BladeBUG director and founder Chris Cieslak said: “We designed the BladeBUG to reduce costly turbine shut downs for our wind energy clients.
“As the UK focuses its energy supply on renewable sources such as wind farms, it is imperative these projects operate as efficiently as possible.
“Once our team has arrived on site, unloaded the BladeBUG and carried out our safety checks, the robot will be attached to a blade and carrying out inspections in a little over half an hour.
“While vacuumed onto a turbine blade the BladeBUG is able to walk around to any areas of interest.
“Because the robot can be navigated to different locations on huge blades very quickly, this reduces turbine downtime.
“The BladeBUG also provides cost savings for wind farm operators as it removes the need for employing rope access teams and allows preventative maintenance to be carried out at an earlier stage to increase turbine efficiency.”
The latest round of testing was successfully carried out at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth.