A review of non-destructive testing on wind turbines blades

The problem of erosion due to water droplet impact has been a major concern for several industries for a very long time and it keeps reinventing itself wherever a component rotates or moves at high speed in a hydrometer environment. Recently, and as larger wind turbine blades are used, erosion of the leading edge due to rain droplets impact has become a serious issue. Leading-edge erosion causes a significant loss in aerodynamics efficiency of turbine blades leading to a considerable reduction in annual energy production. This paper reviews the topic of water droplet impact erosion as it emerges in wind turbine blades. A brief background on water droplet erosion and its industrial applications is first presented. Leading-edge erosion of wind turbine is briefly described in terms of materials involved and erosion conditions encountered in the blade. Emphases are then placed on the status quo of understanding the mechanics of water droplet erosion, experimental testing, and erosion prediction models. The main conclusions of this review are as follow. So far, experimental testing efforts have led to establishing a useful but incomplete understanding of the water droplet erosion phenomenon, the effect of different erosion parameters, and a general ranking of materials based on their ability to resist erosion. Techniques for experimentally measuring an objective erosion resistance (or erosion strength) of materials have, however, not yet been developed. In terms of modelling, speculations about the physical processes underlying water droplet erosion and consequently treating the problem from first principles have never reached a state of maturity. Efforts have, therefore, focused on formulating erosion prediction equations depending on a statistical analysis of large erosion tests data and often with a combination of presumed erosion mechanisms such as fatigue. Such prediction models have not reached the stage of generalization. Experimental testing and erosion prediction efforts need to be improved such that a coherent water droplet erosion theory can be established. The need for standardized testing and data representation practices as well as correlations between test data and real in-service erosion also remains urgent.

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/1/157/pdf

Water Droplet Erosion of Wind Turbine Blades: Mechanics, Testing, Modeling and Future Perspectives

The presence of machining-induced white layer in the near-surface of critical aeroengine alloys has a detrimental effect on the lifetime of a component. Present techniques for identifying and characterizing white layer, such as optical microscopy and hardness testing, whilst effective, are destructive, costly and time-consuming. Non-destructive testing methods may, therefore, offer improvements to the process of white layer detection. This paper discusses the formation mechanisms and the defining physical properties of machining-induced white layers before offering a comprehensive review of the current state-of-the-art in both destructive and non-destructive testing methods for detecting this anomalous surface feature.

Destructive and non-destructive testing methods for characterization and detection of machining induced white layer: A review paper

Abstract We exploit speckle wavelength decorrelation techniques for the characterization of surface roughness up to a few microns. The experimental setup includes an argon laser, a grating, two photodetectors, and a commercial cross correlator. Experimental results are compared with data obtained with a stylus instrument. Fair agreement is observed.

Surface roughness measurement by means of speckle wavelength decorrelation

Radar/infrared integrated stealth optimization design of helicopter engine intake and exhaust system

IR thermographic visualization of flow separation in applications with low thermal contrast

Measurement uncertainty of IR thermographic flow visualization measurements for transition detection on wind turbines in operation

IR thermographic flow visualization for the quantification of boundary layer flow disturbances due to the leading edge condition

Knowledge about laminar–turbulent transition on operating multi megawatt wind turbine (WT) blades needs sophisticated equipment like hot films or microphone arrays. Contrarily, thermographic pictures can easily be taken from the ground, and temperature differences indicate different states of the boundary layer. Accuracy, however, is still an open question, so that an aerodynamic glove, known from experimental research on airplanes, was used to classify the boundary-layer state of a 2 megawatt WT blade operating in the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. State-of-the-art equipment for measuring static surface pressure was used for monitoring lift distribution. To distinguish the laminar and turbulent parts of the boundary layer (suction side only), 48 microphones were applied together with ground-based thermographic cameras from two teams. Additionally, an optical camera mounted on the hub was used to survey vibrations. During start-up (SU) (from 0 to 9 rpm), extended but irregularly shaped regions of a laminar-boundary layer were observed that had the same extension measured both with microphones and thermography. When an approximately constant rotor rotation (9 rpm corresponding to approximately 6 m/s wind speed) was achieved, flow transition was visible at the expected position of 40% chord length on the rotor blade, which was fouled with dense turbulent wedges, and an almost complete turbulent state on the glove was detected. In all observations, quantitative determination of flow-transition positions from thermography and microphones agreed well within their accuracy of less than 1%.

Investigation of Laminar–Turbulent Transition on a Rotating Wind-Turbine Blade of Multimegawatt Class with Thermography and Microphone Array

Differential infrared thermography (DIT) is a method of analyzing infrared images to measure the unsteady motion of the laminar–turbulent transition of a boundary layer. It uses the subtraction of two infrared images taken with a short-time delay. DIT is a new technique which already demonstrated its validity in applications related to the unsteady aerodynamics of helicopter rotors in forward flight. The current study investigates a pitch-oscillating airfoil and proposes several optimizations of the original concept. These include the extension of DIT to steady test cases, a temperature compensation for long-term measurements, and a discussion of the proper infrared image separation distance. The current results also provide a deeper insight into the working principles of the technique. The results compare well to reference data acquired by unsteady pressure transducers, but at least for the current setup DIT results in an additional measurement-related lag for relevant pitching frequencies.

C. Dollinger

Papers

IR thermographic visualization of flow separation in applications with low thermal contrast

Measurement uncertainty of IR thermographic flow visualization measurements for transition detection on wind turbines in operation

IR thermographic flow visualization for the quantification of boundary layer flow disturbances due to the leading edge condition

Investigation of Laminar–Turbulent Transition on a Rotating Wind-Turbine Blade of Multimegawatt Class with Thermography and Microphone Array

Optimization of differential infrared thermography for unsteady boundary layer transition measurement