Utilization of aerial infrared imaging for monitoring wind turbine blade health

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Wind turbine blades operate at high relative velocities and are exposed to unsteady wind loading and harshenvironmental conditions, including rain, hail, lightning, etc. As a consequence, blades are damaged frequentlyand the associated repairs amount for the second largest downtime in turbine maintenance. Thus, routineinspections are required to identify blade damage in a timely fashion, so that required repairs can be performedin time to prevent further damage and/or catastrophic failure. Such inspections are commonly performed byspecialized technical staff, adding significant cost to operation and maintenance of wind farms. This proposalwill enable the use of a portable instrument platform involving high definition imaging in visible and infraredranges to assess blades health on an operating turbine, minimizing the required time and avoiding anydowntime for inspections. The work will involve controlled experiments in a wind tunnel facilities as well asanalysis of field data to help develop effective algorithms for robust blade damage detection.