Bladesave H2020 Project - Destructive Testing Trials

Tue, 11 Aug 2020

After a gratifying 3 year collaboration with project partners Renewable Advice Ltd, Smart Fibres Ltd, TWI International Network and Emergya Wind Technologies BV, our company is pleased to announce that the BladeSave Horizon 2020 project is drawing to a close, after having successfully undergone the final testing phases.

The BladeSave consortium has created a system designed to reduce the risks associated with wind turbine blade failure, by effectively bringing together the partners’ expertise in structural health monitoring, fiber optic sensors and management software.

The system’s capabilities to detect blade cracks in early stages has already been proven by project partner EWT, throughout a 3-month testing period. The consortium wanted to take tests one step further and therefore, TWI planned and executed destructive testing on a wind turbine blade, by simulating blade cracking and propagation using controlled loading. In order to validate the system, the tests were performed by running the BladeSave solution alongside an existing commercial monitoring system.

The results delivered by the tests confirmed the consortium’s expectations, demonstrating the capacity of the system to detect early signs of damage brought about by factors such as direct impacts or lightning strikes. The system monitors the identified flaws and sends the information through the cloud, for assessment. If left unattended, cracks in the blades will grow and propagate, eventually leading to blade failure and a costly replacement.

We can conclude that the BladeSave solution represents a reliable tool in the maintenance of wind turbine blades, ensuring that inspection and repair processes are carried out exactly when needed. This implies avoiding unnecessary interventions, maximizing component lifespan and minimizing turbine downtime, since the repair of a minor flaw is not as time-consuming.

A demonstration of the BladeSave system is scheduled for the 27th of August 2020, from 11.00-12.00 a.m. CET, when project partners TWI and Renewable Advice are holding a free online webinar.

The BladeSave Project is co-funded by the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union and submitted under H2020-FTIPilot-2016 Innovation Action call, with the project ID 760353.

Bladesave-Destructive-Testing Trials process