Demonstrator for robotic inspection and maintenance of offshore wind turbine blades

离岸风力涡轮机在北海等恶劣和极端的环境中运行。随着叶片变得越来越大，它们的尖端速度可以超过100米/S。在这种速度下，空气中的任何颗粒，如雨、灰尘、盐、昆虫等，都会磨损叶片前缘的表面，这种现象被称为“前缘侵蚀”(Lee)。这反过来会改变叶片的气动形状，影响其效率，并有可能使叶片进一步受到更严重的损坏，从而缩短其工作寿命。虽然导致叶片损伤的因素的程度和性质尚未完全了解，但可以说，在其寿命的某个时间点，所有风力涡轮机叶片都将遭受某种形式或程度的损伤，这将需要解决。在海上风电领域维护叶片是一项昂贵而危险的工作，通常需要高技能的绳索接入技术人员来缩减叶片规模以进行尖端维修。在创新英国融资的第一阶段成功证明了这一概念后，在这个项目中，BladeBug Limited将继续与离岸可再生能源弹射器合作，开发、建造和测试一个完整的行走机器人系统，专门用于对风力涡轮机叶片的前沿进行大量此类详细检查和重复维修。远程执行这些任务的能力将解放熟练的绳索接入技术人员进行只有他们才能做的叶片的专业维修或升级。然后，可以在相同的时间范围内检查和处理更多的叶片，最大限度地提高涡轮机的电力输出，从而增加涡轮机所有者的收入，并在减少二氧化碳方面为每个人带来环境效益。

"Offshore wind turbines operate in harsh and extreme environments such as the North Sea. As blades continue getting larger, their tip speeds can exceed 100m/s. At these speeds, any particulates in the air such as rain, dust, salt, insects, etc. can wear away the surface of a blade's leading edge, a phenomenon known as ""leading edge erosion"" (LEE). This, in turn, alters the blade's aerodynamic shape, affecting its efficiency and potentially exposing the blade to further and more serious damage, thereby reducing its working life.Whilst the extent and nature of contributing factors to LEE are not yet fully understood, it can be said that at some point in their lifespan, all wind turbine blades will suffer from some form or degree of LEE which will need to be addressed. Maintaining blades in the offshore wind sector is an expensive and dangerous job where, typically, highly skilled rope access technicians are required to scale down the blades to carry out leading edge repairs.Having successfully proven the concept in Phase 1 of the Innovate UK funding round, in this project, BladeBug Limited will continue its work with the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult to develop, build and test a complete, walking robotic system designed specifically to carry out a number of these detailed inspections and repetitive repairs on the leading edges of wind turbine blades.The ability to perform these tasks remotely will free up time of skilled rope access technicians to undertake specialist repairs or upgrades to blades that only they can do. More blades could then be inspected and treated in the same time frames, maximising the electrical output of the turbines and, as a result, increasing revenues to turbine owners as well as the environmental benefit to everyone in CO2 savings."