Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.
Issue link: https://insideunmanned.epubxp.com/i/668560
18 unmanned systems inside April/May 2016 AIR INSPECTION services expected to reach close to $6 billion by 2024, there's a lot of potential work for UAS. "Wind turbine and blade inspection seems to be the area most apt to capitalize from this type of technology," AAIR Vice President and General Manager Grant Leaverton said. "It's also a component that was somewhat neglect- ed until recently. Historically, owners were heavily focused on drive train equipment, gearboxes and bearings and weren't too con- cerned with the blades. As the countrywide fleet ages, they're starting to realize the blades are the most critical components. The rise of drone technology coupled with the overall aging of the equipment converged into the perfect storm." Traditional Inspections Before drones, there were typically two ways to complete wind turbine inspections—by climb- ing the tower and rappelling down each blade to capture images or by taking still photos from the ground, Leaverton said. Rappelling is both dangerous and time con- suming—it takes a half day to a day to inspect a turbine this way, something a drone can com- plete in about 45 minutes—while the ground- based photos just don't provide the level of detail needed to detect various analomies, said Kevan Rusk, director of the University of North Dakota Technology Accelerator. UND is working with various companies, including EdgeData and LM Wind Power, to study how to automate wind tur- bine inspections using drones. Rusk worked at LM Wind Power for several years and estimates deploying UAS for these inspections increases the amount of throughput by at least 10 times, even more once the companies get into a rhythm. It also takes about an hour and a half to in- spect one turbine from the ground, said Russel Peck, director of Worldwide Inspection Services for Strat Aero, a company that recently worked with Westar Energy to perform turbine inspec- tions with the DJI Inspire. Moreover, the tur- bine blades must be moved in various directions so the ground photographers can get the images they need, which tends to be hard on the tur- bine's mechanics. The turbines can't run during these inspections, and shutting them down costs the farms money, said Ian Glenn, CEO of ING Robotic Innovation. The UAS manufacturer completed wind turbine inspections at Capstone Infrastructure in Canada last year and plans to go back this summer. They found the quicker inspections drones provide lead to much less downtime. "Every moment those blades aren't turn- ing, it costs the company money," Glenn said. "What we did with Capstone showed we could do the inspections much safer and faster, and produce data that's at least as good as what they get otherwise. In the end, we proved using UAS for these inspections is at least three times faster, 50 percent cheaper and results in two thirds less down time for the turbines." What They're Looking For After a wind turbine inspection, owners want to determine what repairs need to be made, Leaverton said. They want to know the current health of the fiber glass blades and what dam- ages have occurred over time. They're looking for lightning damage, cracks, missing chunks, leading edge erosion and any other anomalies that might impact performance. Blades develop leading edge erosion from sand and dirt and the fact they're spinning 200 miles an hour for long periods of time, Peck "MANAGEMENT OF THE DATA and the information is critical. We need to understand what images they need, how to capture those images and to make sure we're delivering data that's valuable." Chris Shroyer, president of EdgeData THE BENEFIT OF USING A ROTORCRAFT While many wind farms use quadrotors for wind turbine inspections, there are benefts to using a bigger rotorcraft as well, said Ian Glenn, CEO of ING Robotic Innovation. These larger aircraft, such as the Responder from ING, tend to have better wind performance and can carry camera gear with better optics. They may even make it possible to perform inspections during different times of the year. In Canada, the inspections are typically completed during the summer months. ING plans to work with Capstone Infrastructure for a second year of inspections this summer. Capstone owns wind farms across Canada. "This is a tough job. You're 10 meters away from the blade and you're fying in complex winds. It's not for the faint of heart," Glenn said. "Wind turbines by default are in windy locations. Good stability in the wind is a key component to sustained, successful service delivery." Photos courtesy of EdgeData