Advanced Non-Destructive Testing of Blade Manufacturing Defects

风力涡轮机叶片是风力涡轮机的最昂贵和最复杂的部件之一。叶片现在接近100米长，使用碳和/或玻璃纤维增强塑料复合材料制造。无损检测（NDT）方法用于识别缺陷，以降低运营维护成本并延长使用寿命。超声波检测技术是最合适的NDT方法，通常由训练有素的NDT专家进行数据/图像分析。航空航天工业现在采用改进的非接触式扫描方法，再加上检测算法和机器学习技术。将类似方法应用于大型风力涡轮机叶片将能够实现更高效和更具成本效益的检查，从而为清洁能源生产带来整体效益。将对目前用于复合材料的超声波无损检测技术进行审查，并确定最适用于风力发电行业的技术。这些将在工业合作伙伴Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy提供的小型叶片样品上进行测试。在此基础上，工艺将升级，目的是开发成熟的全自动检测和图像分析技术，用于大规模叶片制造。

Wind turbine blades are one of the most costly and complicated components of the wind turbine. Blades are now approaching 100m in length and are manufactured using carbon and/or glass fibre reinforced plastic composites. Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods are utilized to identify defects so to reduce operational maintenance costs and extend lifetimes.Ultrasonic testing techniques are the most suitable NDT method with the data/image analysis typically performed by trained NDT experts. The aerospace industry now employs improved, contactless scanning methods, coupled with detection algorithms and machine-learning techniques. The application of similar methods to large wind turbine blades will enable more efficient and cost-effective inspections resulting in overall benefits for clean energy production. A review of current ultrasonic NDT techniques for composite materials will be conducted and the most applicable for the wind industry identified. These will be tested on small blade samples, provided by industrial partner Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. Following on from this, processes are to be up-scaled with the aim of developing mature and fully automated inspection, and image analysis, techniques used in large-scale blade manufacturing.