Feasibility of using line scanning thermography in NDE of wind turbine blades

Abstract

Today, the increasing energy demand and the need for clean power generation has lead to the improvement of wind turbines and the development non invasive inspection techniques for the assessment of wind turbine blades to maintain long term reliability as well as to avoid catastrophic failures. Given the complexity of the geometry, the material composition and material thicknesses, finding a NDT technique to effectively and rapidly inspect the blades is a challenging task. Wind turbine blades are fabricated using different materials like fiber glass, carbon composites, foam and/ or balsa wood. Layers of these materials are bonded together using an epoxy type resin. Inspection of the bond quality between external layers and structural elements of the blade is of fundamental importance for quality control and service of the blade. In this study our efforts towards the applications of Line Scanning Thermography (LST) for the analysis of test coupons fabricated using the materials employed in the manufacture of wind turbine blades, as well as some wind turbine blade sections. LST utilizes a line heat source to thermally excite the surface to be inspected and an infrared detector to record the transient surface temperature variation produced by disbonds, and other subsurface imperfections. The LST technique has provided a quick and efficient methodology to scan large composite structures, which makes it desirable for the inspection of wind turbine blades. The scanning protocols developed for the detection of sub-surface disbonds (delamination) in coupons and parts will be presented. The successes and limitations of the technique will be discussed.