Posters

Abstract

The leading edges of rotor blades of wind turbine generators (WTG) are subject to erosion from contact with sand, dust, rain, and other environmental factors. The leading edge erosion can reduce the efficiency of a wind turbine generator by 5 - 25 %, and therefore must be repaired periodically. The repairs are typically a relatively lengthy process and require human personnel working at height for extended periods, creating additional safety risks. Aerones has developed a unique robotic system for WTG rotor blade diagnostics and maintenance, that is controlled from the ground. The combination of robotics and rope access technicians enables them to perform the leading edge repair faster, with fewer safety risks, and with high-quality results. This process reduces the downtime of a wind turbine associated with the repairs to 10 hours (vs. up to 1 week by using traditional methods) and also mitigates the risks associated with working at heights. Making routine repairs of rotor blades cheaper, faster, and more accessible can have a large impact on estimated annual energy production (AEP) and the wind resources used. Moreover, the methodology has the potential to make the cost calculation more attractive for places with large particulate pollution which typically leads to more severe leading-edge erosion. The range of working conditions for the maintenance itself can be increased, by performing repairs at higher wind speeds, lower temperatures, in precipitation, or lower visibility conditions. We outline the precision requirements needed for leading edge repairs and illustrate cases where the work of rope access technicians is still irreplaceable (e.g. when repairing delamination and cracks or monitoring the quality of leading edge repairs up close). Finally, we illustrate how the drastic reduction of WTG downtime during leading edge repairs makes an attractive value proposition for preventive rotor blade maintenance where the leading edge erosion and other faults are repaired before any substantial issues of lowered energy production or rotor blade vibration have been encountered.