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Robot scales Levenmouth wind turbine

By: Tom Russell 05/11/2020 ORE Catapult

General Windfarms

Over two days in mid-October, a six-legged inspect-and-repair robot repeatedly scaled blades at Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s 7 MW Levenmouth Demonstration turbine, off the coast of Fife.

According to ORE Catapult, the BladeBUG represents a 30 per cent cost reduction on current blade inspection techniques, which are conducted by rope-access technicians. For next generation turbines, ORE Catapult claims the BladeBUG offers cost savings which could reach as much as 50 per cent.

The robot is being developed under a £1 million collaboration between BladeBUG and ORE Catapult, part funded by Innovate UK. By the project’s end next year, BladeBUG is expected to be capable of inspecting blade surfaces for emergent cracks and imperfections, transmitting data on their condition back to shore and resurfacing the blades.

BladeBUG previously tested abilities on blade sections and the vertical training tower at ORE Catapult’s National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth. The blade walk at an operational offshore wind turbine aimed to demonstrate the robot can conduct deployments in real-world conditions. During the demonstration, the robot walked 50 metres on a vertically positioned blade on the Levenmouth turbine (a length of 84 metres, with the tip reaching 195 metres above the sea when upright).

Crucial capabilities demonstrated during the trial include adherence of its vacuum-padded feet to blade surfaces in offshore conditions, the ability to navigate the varying curvature of blade surfaces in a variety of scenarios,
and the transmission of data from blade scans and live video feed to technicians demonstrating the BladeBUG’s navigational abilities and placement of feet on changing surfaces.

“This is an incredibly significant technology that we know is being keenly watched by the industry as a potential game-changer,” said Chris Hill, ORE Catapult’s Operational Performance Director. “It has a clear potential for cutting costs, reducing human offshore deployment and increasing blade lifetimes. But, we had yet to see how the robot would perform on a real turbine out at sea. I consider BladeBUG’s first walk at Levenmouth as offshore wind’s ‘moon walk’ – a historic milestone in the industry’s evolution. Robotics are here to stay, and they will be an essential ingredient to operating ever-expanding wind farms, deeper-water sites and faster, bigger turbines in the coming years.”

Chris Cieslak, BladeBUG's CEO, added: “This is such a historic moment for us as a company. It has been so exciting to see results of months of work and development in action and this latest test marks the huge progress we have made. In a little over a year we have gone from designing and testing our first prototype, to taking our first tentative steps with our Mark I robot, to now, seeing the BladeBUG robot walk along the blade of an actual offshore wind turbine. We cannot wait to perform further trials and demonstrate the capabilities further offshore.”

The robot is also a key component of the £4.2 million MIMRee project, which will demonstrate a fully autonomous inspection and repair mission at an offshore wind farm.

During these trials, BladeBUG will work in collaboration with an autonomous vessel and teams of drones, using a robotic arm to clean and resurface damaged blades. The final MIMRee system technology trials are set to take place in mid-2021.

For more information on offshore wind farms worldwide, click here.

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Robot scales Levenmouth wind turbine

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