Wind Turbine Non Destructive Testing NDT

Advanced testing solutions for your wind assets

Wind turbines are highly complex machines that undergo extremely high static and dynamic loads. These loads, experienced during operation and over such long lifespans (15-30 years) take a toll on the structural elements of the turbine itself.

Cracking and other structural fatigue issues are common in almost all load-transferring elements of a wind turbine. These are exposed to significant forces or loading during operation and over time result in failures (blade debonding, tower weld cracking, bolt failures, generator frame cracks, blade bearing cracks etc. just to name a few)

If left undetected, these issues can progress over time and cause a complete loss of your asset or worse injury to personnel. Unlike many other components, structural components are often not exchangeable or too costly to exchange which means keeping on top of emerging issues is critical to ensure the integrity of the entire asset.

Detailed visual examination and Non-Destructive Testing is a crucial component of inspection and safety monitoring of your assets. This is especially true for assets in operation for more than 15 years or those earmarked for Life Time Extension.

What We Offer

Through experience we know that ageing machines require a greater complexity of inspection. Our teams target and examine all load-transferring and safety relevant components of your turbines based on knowledge of common concerns or defects.

We offer a full suite of NDT services and can schedule a full complement of NDT inspection techniques tailored to our client’s needs. Depending on client needs this may cover:

Detailed Visual Inspections (with a focus on structural areas)
NDT for Crack Detection on Towers, Frames or Castings / Weld Failure / Bolt failures.
Monitoring of existing cracks or defects.
Material loss assessment (corroded areas etc.)

Unless specific defects are already known and the focus of the NDT visit is routine observation, the first step is normally to conduct climbdown of the turbine. This is where a Detailed Visual Inspection (DVI) is carried out. This approach ensures that any major issues are identified quickly and through a low cost activity.

When completing an inspection our team will target all areas of concern. Identify and log all issues and provide guidance on the most appropriate solutions for follow up examination if necessary.

Through inspection we can provide our customers with peace of mind that hidden issues will not emerge over time and lead to extensive and costly damages. At the same time we also provide our clients with clear solutions and actionable data which help them to make informed decisions when making financial & engineering decisions.

Areas We Inspect

Typical areas of inspection include;

Tower Inspection (Welds, Corroded areas, Door flanges etc.)
Nacelle / Generator Bedframes
Hub Castings
Main Bearing Castings
Blade Adaptors
Blade Bearings
Foundation and Tower Bolts

NDT Techniques

Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI or MT)
Dye Penetrant Inspection
Ultrasonic Testing (UT)
Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT)
Eddy Current Testing
Corrosion Mapping
Radiography
Field Metallurgical Replication
Metallurgical testing and examination
Visual Testing (VT)
Remote Visual Inspection

Blade NDT Services

There is a world of difference between the steel structural elements of a wind turbine and the composites used in blade construction. We appreciate that a completely different set of expertise and knowledge is required in this subject area.

For this reason, we provide these services through a trusted and accredited industry partner. Through this partnership we guarantee our clients world leading wind turbine blade expert services when needed most.

These Services Include:

Ultrasonic Testing (UT & PAUT) of blades up-tower or in laydown
Bonding Strength “Pull off” testing
Sampling, Testing and Examination
On-site examination by blade expert
FAT/SAT Reviews
Technical reviews and reports
Root cause failure investigation
Leading Edge Protection (LEP)
Blade Repairs

Accreditation

Our NDT inspection team holds certification to ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System for Non Destructive Testing Services. This certification is recognised internationally.

Deliverables

We pride ourselves on our comprehensive and easy-to-read deliverables. We can supply our reports in multiple formats and file types. You tell us what you need and we can deliver it. Our high-resolution imagery coupled with clear defect highlighting means you can verify what we saw with confidence.

Click here to see a sample Mech-V WTG inspection report.