Abstract
Global growth in onshore and offshore wind energy has created a forecasted 11.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) increase in Wind Turbine (WT) blades throughout 2020-2025. The ability to verify blade condition throughout the asset lifecycle is integral to economic and reliable renewable energy supplies. Currently, commercial inspection of deployed wind turbine blades is predominately performed by rope access personnel using visual and infrared cameras. In this paper we present the results of Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar analysis of a decommissioned wind turbine blade exhibiting clearly defined defects. We show that FMCW sensing provides a non-invasive, non-destructive and non-contact means of surface and sub-surface integrity evaluation of these composite structures. We observe absolute unit (a.u.) order of magnitude contrasts for healthy blades at 0.47 x106 (a.u.) versus defective blade structures at 1.9 x105 (a.u.). Our results present the analysis of the decoupled reflected electromagnetic wave, verifying FMCW sensitivity to different failure modes relating to surface and internal structures of the WT blade. The FMCW analysis of WT blades demonstrated within this paper represents a first in instantaneous cross-sectional analysis of blade assets, providing a transformative advancement in WT blade integrity analysis.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | 11th Annual IEEE Information Technology, Electronics and Mobile Communication Conference |
Editors | Rajashree Paul |
Publisher | IEEE |
Pages | 498-504 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781728184166 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 4 Nov 2020 |
Event | 11th Annual IEEE Information Technology, Electronics and Mobile Communication Conference 2020 - Virtual Conference, Virtual, Vancouver, Canada Duration: 4 Nov 2020 → 7 Nov 2020 https://ieee-iemcon.org/ |
Conference
Conference | 11th Annual IEEE Information Technology, Electronics and Mobile Communication Conference 2020 |
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Abbreviated title | IEMCON 2020 |
Country/Territory | Canada |
City | Virtual, Vancouver |
Period | 4/11/20 → 7/11/20 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- Asset Integrity Inspection
- Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar
- Microwave Sensing
- Non-Destructive Testing
- Offshore Renewable Maintenance
- Wind Turbines
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Computer Networks and Communications
- Computer Science Applications
- Hardware and Architecture
- Information Systems and Management
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Health Informatics