2in1 LPS Inspection: How to improve maintenance of onshore and offshore wind farms and reduce costs.

The video shows how operators can make the maintenance of onshore and offshore wind farms more efficient and secure by using drones. For the lightning protection measurement of your wind turbines, it has been mandatory to use rope access techniques. In the next four minutes, I will show you how the 2in1 LPS Inspection has successfully tested over 300 wind turbines in the past 12 months – with rotor blade inspection, lightning protection measurement, but without rope access techniques. Operators are responsible for the safe operation of wind turbines and invest a lot of time in coordinating maintenance tasks, especially the inspection of wind turbines. The various activities involved in their wind turbines result in long downtimes, which in turn lead to financial losses.

Since you generally need two teams to perform machine inspections and rotor blade inspections, a considerable cost apparatus accumulates here. However, the inaccuracy of lightning protection measurement remains. If damage is present, it is difficult to locate it accurately. In summary, the experience shows that there is a discrepancy between costs and result quality. ENERTRAG Operation offers the 2in1 LPS Inspection as the new standard for wind turbine inspections worldwide. For this purpose, razor-sharp inspection images are taken from your wind turbine through drone flight, allowing even the smallest crack in the rotor blade to be examined precisely later.

The autonomously flying drone also performs a non-contact lightning protection measurement of your system and autonomously marks any damages on the image. The measurement of an electrical field around the rotor blades with a sensor mounted on the drone becomes possible with a high-voltage generator connected to the hub, which replicates a lightning strike much more accurately than previous methods. The procedure, confirmed by TÜV Nord in Germany, can simulate micro-fractures and corrosion in the lightning protection system, just like a real lightning strike, and detect interruptions in the lightning protection system with centimeter precision.

The 2in1 LPS Inspection works with any lightning protection system that can be accessed from the hub of a wind turbine when the high-voltage generator is connected. Due to the consistent flight route, the 2in1 LPS Inspection is also the optimal solution if you want to better understand the development of damages in the past and predict them in the future as part of predictive maintenance.

You will receive the results of your inspections in specialized software. Our engineering expert teams, with extensive experience in rotor blade inspections, will be happy to assist you in the evaluation and show you the most efficient way to operate your wind turbines. Speaking of efficiency: During the drone flight by a drone pilot, the inspector can simultaneously perform additional inspection services in the machine house. A team can easily conduct three rotor blade inspections, including lightning protection measurement, per workday, even with the latest wind turbines.