Wind power sits at the heart of the energy transition for many countries with the right geographical and meteorological conditions. Guaranteeing wind turbine blade maintenance is key for the integrity of the blade structure and to prolong the lifetime of the wind turbines.
1. Aerorobots
Maintenance of wind turbines is a crucial element to ensure electricity production at total capacity. The robotics company Aerones developed remote-controlled robots that are cleaning and inspecting these devices that convert the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. The company says its robots can save downtime on wind turbines by four to six times and reduce downtime by five to ten times, thus increasing the annual energy production by 12% and help stabilizing power prices. Each hour a turbine is not in operation costs more and more money as energy prices go up. The robot can also operate and coat the blade at a speed of 6 meters per minute, offering “perfectly coated” blades in four to six hours.
Aerones is making O&M services for wind turbine blades faster, safer, and more efficient. 💡
— Aerones (@aerones_com) January 11, 2022
The robotic solutions will help you manage your wind park assets with an intelligent approach to prevent blade damages. https://t.co/8xiyG3qXpD pic.twitter.com/Uqwh1fE2iF
“Our leading edge brush robot tool hand cleans the blade surface sparkling clean. With high-quality brushes and a biodegradable detergent, we can clean the wind turbine blade’s leading edge in no more than 20 minutes. Clean of bugs, dirt, algae, oil, and other contaminants before performing repairs or applying coating on the leading edge,” stated Aerones, describing the smooth operations of its edge ice-phobic coating robot.
2. Maintenance
Turbine inspection is the most common type of maintenance, where inspectors typically use various tools to inspect the blades, nacelle, tower, and generator. For the blades of wind turbines, for example, erosion is a huge problem. The blade surface ages gradually due to small airborne particles, ice, snow, and rain and it harms the turbine blade’s aerodynamics over time by wearing off the outer layer of the blade. Over the course of the turbine’s lifetime, less and less energy is produced as a result.
Ice buildup on wind turbines causes a variety of problems: reduction of power production, overloading because of delayed stall, increased fatigue of components, and risk of ice throw. This has a large effect on annual energy production.
Aerones
To ensure the blades’ structural integrity and extending the machines’ life it is crucial to properly maintain these devices. Other common problems associated to wind turbines include worn bearings, and cracked gearboxes.
