In this section
@article{Cieslak:2026:10.1115/1.4070908,
author = {Cieslak, C and Rivers, S and Childs, P},
doi = {10.1115/1.4070908},
journal = {Journal of Fluids Engineering, Transactions of the ASME},
title = {In-situ wind turbine blade inspection using ultrasonic non-destructive testing},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/1.4070908},
volume = {148},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Offshore and onshore wind turbine blades present significant inspection, maintenance and repair challenges arising from location, economic drivers, environment and the specific blade architecture concerned. In-situ tasks have traditionally been undertaken by people abseiling from the tower or use of gantries. Harsh conditions associated with windy environs, along with pressures to limit downtime, have led to a range of new technologies becoming available. This paper presents results from the use of ultrasonic nondestructive testing (NDT) measurements of subsurface blade topography arising from in situ and static blade inspection for a range of wind turbine types. The measurements have been enabled using a hexapod robot that can accommodate NDT scanners within its chassis and can, using pneumatic suction for the robot pedipulators, navigate the convex, concave, and flexing form of in situ wind turbine blades. The arising NDT tomographic scans provide detailed information on blade integrity, the presence or otherwise of bonding materials, and local feature condition. Measurements, presented over a 600 mm traverse span, have confirmed the reliability of the robotic platform to deliver high-quality, consistent, and reliable data to be acquired with limited NDT experience and to allow subsurface inspections to be performed and analyzed remotely. In addition to detailed measurement of subsurface blade features, the robot system has also demonstrated the capacity to undertake functions such as lightning protection system verification.
AU - Cieslak,C
AU - Rivers,S
AU - Childs,P
DO - 10.1115/1.4070908
PY - 2026///
SN - 0098-2202
TI - In-situ wind turbine blade inspection using ultrasonic non-destructive testing
T2 - Journal of Fluids Engineering, Transactions of the ASME
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/1.4070908
VL - 148
ER -
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