Drone-based contact inspection system for the wind energy sector.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
The AIRCONTACT project aims to develop a new contact inspection system for the wind energy sector, with the goal of elevating the solution to a TRL6 and demonstrating the technology’s validity in a real-world environment by autonomously detecting structural damage and measuring conductivity. To this end, two entities with extensive knowledge and experience in research in the field of unmanned aerial systems and navigation technologies will join forces: ALERION, a San Sebastian-based company specializing in the development of precision autonomous navigation, computer vision, and high-performance embedded software, and the Avionics and Systems Department of the Advanced Center for Aerospace Technologies (FADA-CATEC), currently the leading technology center for unmanned aerial systems in Spain.
Wind energy is an important energy source that is growing at around 10% annually. At the end of 2018, around 600 GW of wind power capacity was installed worldwide, with increasingly efficient designs and increased generating capacity. This design complexity requires a detailed maintenance plan using advanced techniques that allow for identifying the structural condition. Traditionally, inspection work at wind farms has been carried out with visual inspection techniques using telescopes and specialists working at height. Recently, drones have begun to be used for these inspection tasks due to their speed and cost savings. However, these visual inspections only identify superficial damage once it has occurred and are unable to identify structural damage resulting from microscopic flaws in the manufacturing process. If these defects go unnoticed, they can lead to blade breakage, which can cost up to €5 million for offshore wind turbines. To detect this structural damage, non-destructive testing techniques such as ultrasound, active thermography, X-rays, and conductivity measurements have begun to be used. However, these measurements are manual and expensive due to the need for the measuring equipment to be in contact with the blade surface.
The main objective of the project is to design a drone system for contact inspection of wind turbines that will expand current capabilities to improve the reliability and efficiency of wind energy and environmental protection, increasing the sector’s competitiveness in the market. Other relevant project objectives are to increase the level of automation of wind turbine blade inspections and improve the traceability of asset status information. The technical objectives of the project are the development of precision autonomous navigation technologies for drones without the need for geopositioning systems using sensor fusion techniques. With all this, the project will help position the Spanish RPAS or drone industry at an international leadership level by developing disruptive technologies for the energy market.
PARTNER
ALERION TECHNOLOGIES
FINANCING
The project is part of the 2019 Collaboration Challenges call of the State Program for Research, Development, and Innovation oriented to the Challenges of Society, within the framework of the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation, 2017-2020.
Project funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the State Research Agency.