Romain – Development of a robotic maintenance system for wind turbine blades

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Wind turbines are designed to operate for a life time of 20-25 years. Once they are installed, the O&M (operation and maintenance) are the key to maximise the economic and environmental benefits of wind assets. This project aims to develop a complete solution for robot based inspection and repair of wind turbine blades (WTBs) in-situ, both onshore and offshore. Firstly, we will develop advanced optical techniques with laser heating, so that quantitative information of subsurface defects within WTBs can be obtained. (Current techniques including drone-based are limited to surface defects only). Secondly, a compact and efficient robotic deployment system will be developed which will hold the inspection unit and a robotic repair arm. The robotic system will be operated by engineers working on ground (for onshore wind turbines) or on a vessel (for offshore wind turbines), greatly reducing their risk exposure. When defects are detected and deemed reparable, the repair arm of the whole system will be activated to do the job in the sky. Field trials on wind towers will be conducted to validate the system.