In the global wind power industry, the global wind turbine count was approximated at 270,000 at the beginning of 2015, amounting to over 800,000 turbine blades that needed to be inspected annually. Turbine blades deal directly with the elements and are highly prone to wear, so thorough and regular inspections are required in wind power industry to ensure that productivity remains high and huge maintenance costs are not incurred.
Nowadays, the wind power manufacturers turn to the world-popular technique-drone technology, for making revolution across the industry. This technology has already altered a number of major industries dramatically, including agriculture, real estate, filming and photography, shipping and law enforcement.
In SANY, these inspections had previously been conducted manually, using ground-based or up-tower methods that were unsafe and time-consuming, but the recent adoption of intelligent unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at wind farms has completely transformed the industry of wind power.
Sany Heavy Energy Machinery, a SANY Group subsidiary that manufactures renewable wind power systems and operates a number of wind farms across the globe, recently partnered with drone developer BriSky Technology in the development and manufacture of intelligent industrial drones. Here’s how the highly advanced UAVs SANY and BriSky are developing and revolutionizing wind turbine inspections, and the wind power industry as a whole.
Intelligent Imaging Systems
Industrial-grade drones used for wind turbine inspections use computer vision and deep learning to conduct autonomous inspections following pre-defined flight routes. The UAVs are equipped with digital cameras or special thermal imaging sensors that are able to capture high-resolution images of the turbines from various angles. These images can be seen by inspectors in real-time or analyzed afterward, allowing for more thorough and accurate blade inspection.
Increased Wind Power Efficiency
As inspections are carried out aerially using drones, SANY’s wind turbines do not actually have to be shut down during inspections, reducing downtime by an estimated 70%. Digital imaging has also allowed for the creation of digital archives. The collection of key data that can be used for future reference enables SANY inspectors to see, for example, hows cracks on blades have progressed over time, aiding in blade maintenance and the tracking of blade life cycles.
Operation in Varied Conditions
UAVs offer an obvious advantage over previous manual inspections in that they can be used to easily conduct inspections both offshore and onshore. Drones with high stability, like the all-weather BO Series developed by BriSky, offer high wind, rain and snow resistance, enabling SANY wind power operators to easily carry out inspections throughout the year.
Faster Maintenance
Drones can fly farther and faster. UAV-based turbine inspections are considered to be 3 times faster than manual inspections. Previously, SANY engineers had to climb up the wind turbines with little to no diagnostic data beforehand, and had to diagnose the issues while up there. Now, diagnostic information can be collected by drones and thoroughly analyzed beforehand, allowing SANY engineers to then conduct faster and more accurate maintenance.
Cost-Effective
Reduced inspection times and increased efficiency have meant that turbine maintenance costs have been reduced substantially. The costs related to turbine blade inspections are estimated to have been reduced by 50%, saving wind power industry thousands of dollars annually.
Reduced Safety Risk
What were high-risk operations involving climbing crews, have now become safer UAV-driven operations. Drones have allowed for the elimination of risk of personal injury to SANY turbine inspectors as high-resolution imaging technology offers unprecedented detail, and reduces the need for them to operate in dangerous environments.
Ecological Benefit
Advanced photogrammetric software enables industrial drones to map out wind farms, and generate accurate digital elevation models of sites that SANY wind power developers can use to determine turbine locations, access roads and laydown areas. This is highly beneficial for environmental impact assessments, as it allows SANY developers to see the potential impact of projects so they can chose methods that cause the least environmental impact.
Drone technology has transformed the methods and systems of entire wind power industry. The strategic partnership of wind turbine manufacturers like SANY and drone developers like BriSky means the wind power industry will see the development of even more advanced wind turbine units and maintenance systems, as intelligent drones continue to take the wind power industry to greater heights.
