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The Deutsche Windtechnik Inspection Body conducts various technical inspections throughout wind turbines’ life cycles. These include commissioning, warranty, periodic, and condition-oriented inspections.
The multi-stage drone system, CU-RE, developed by the Deutsche Windtechnik Inspection Body for inspecting rotor blades and lightning protection systems, has passed validation. TÜV NORD conducted its first conformity assessment, affirming the drone’s capability to assess the technical condition of rotor blades and lightning protection functionality. This allows for the evaluation of stability and public safety risks, making CU-RE suitable for periodic inspections.
During an order-specific risk analysis conducted in the early stages, the inspection body assesses whether drone technology or rope access is more suitable for the inspection objective. If drone technology is deemed preferable, the fully validated three-stage CU-RE model is employed. This model adheres to stringent inspection requirements outlined by the EASA, commonly used in the aviation industry. The first stage involves a comprehensive visual inspection using automated drone flight, scanning 100% of the rotor blade’s outer surface for visible damage or irregularities. The second stage may include selective, manually guided drone technology if necessary. For more extensive inspections, specialized drone or rope access options may be utilized in the third stage.
“The validation by TÜV NORD confirms that the drone technology used by the Deutsche Windtechnik Inspection Body is suitable for carrying out a range of important inspections such as periodic and condition-oriented inspections. In
view of the current shortage of skilled workers and the rapidly growing turbine inventory, this is very good news for the entire industry because drones will significantly reduce the amount of work required as well as downtimes. In Germany this will close an important gap because legislators have not yet adopted any mandatory requirements for the use of drones in the wind energy industry,“ said Matthias Brandt, Director of Deutsche Windtechnik.
Michael Lange, Head of the ISO 17029 Conformity Assessment Body for Wind Energy at TÜV NORD, added, “The inspection procedure was validated against our new TÜV NORD standard. This standard defines criteria and
inspection points that allow drone inspection procedures to be evaluated. For the validation, the reliability of the processes was evaluated using documentation tests. In addition to specifications for the equipment used,
this also includes specifications for flying and quality assurance. The successful validation only applies to the drone technology used by Deutsche Windtechnik. Other drone systems on the market can also be evaluated using the
new standard. By introducing our new standard TN-P-V01-001, TÜV NORD has responded to the increasing use of drones and created a uniform assessment for the safety of wind turbines.”
