Millimeter Wave Inspection Tool for Wind Turbine Components

The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking quality assurance inspection of wind turbine parts. Wind energy is a clean, renewable, and indigenous source of electricity that has the potential to significantly contribute to future domestic energy production if current challenges can be overcome. Improving wind system reliability is a challenge that requires advanced technologies to accelerate development. In particular, improved technologies to perform quality assurance inspection on very large, thick wind turbine parts are needed to uncover hidden defects before and after field installation. To address this urgent DOE need, a new millimeter wave inspection tool for nondestructive testing of wind turbine components will be developed. The tool is based on a scanning millimeter wave probe that uses the penetrating, low energy light to image defects throughout the thickness of wind turbine composite parts. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The inspection tool being developed will provide a fast and reliable diagnostic device that can directly be applied both in the wind plant after manufacturing and in the field prior to installation. This will benefit the nation by improving the reliability of wind turbine components thereby reducing maintenance costs and extending wind turbine installation lifetimes. Improving the reliability and operability of wind turbines will help to establish domestic wind energy manufacturing capabilities and create a large number of green and clean energy jobs for Americans in the coming decades. Other commercial applications for the inspection tool include nondestructive inspection of large-scale composite materials such as parts for bridges, aircraft, and structures.