REQUIM

Challenge

Today, the leading edges of wind turbine blades often need to be repaired due to harsh weather conditions and increased rotor speeds. A Rain Erosion Tester helps predict the lifespan of wind turbine blades by testing erosion on the leading edges of the blades. However, a significant portion of the data collected from rain erosion tests is not used because it is a time-consuming process when point erosions need to be marked.

As a result, the erosion front is often only marked. There is no standard for when something should be marked, so subjective judgment becomes important and is very time-consuming for the final V/N curve.

Solution

The project develops an annotation tool that ensures easy and quick annotation of erosion, making it easier and faster to test a new Leading Edge Protection product and improve the quality of test analyses by reviewing all data and eliminating subjective judgments.

Impact

• Cost reduction of over €45,000 per turbine
• Reduction of up to 20 hours of manual assessment work per test sample
• Faster certification of new Leading Edge Protection product for blade edge protection.