Improved Inspection of Composite Wind Turbine Blades with Accessible Advanced Ultrasonic Phased Array Technology

In-service wind turbines blades are subjected to high levels of stress. Consequently, the bonding between the blade’s structural beams and shell must be characterized during manufacturing to help ensure blade integrity. The blades should also be clear of defects, like delamination and wrinkles.

The material used to construct wind blades, such as fiberglass and carbon reinforced plastics (CRP), pose particular challenges to ultrasonic inspection, and the industry has been searching for a simple and reliable solution.

Olympus manufactures a variety of tools that make it easier to detect and size flaws in different areas of the blades. These tools include low-frequency linear phased array probes and probe holders combined with off-the-shelf ultrasonic phased array instruments and software bundled in a convenient, easy-to-use package. The advantages of using phased array include the fast inspection speed, small resolution, and full coverage of the inspected area.

Presenter:

André Lamarre, M.Sc.
Business Development Manager, Aerospace and Power Generation Industries
Andre.lamarre@olympus-ossa.com
André Lamarre is a graduate in Engineering Physics and holds a Master’s degree in Materials Science. In 1994, he joined R/D Tech, a leader in NDT equipment, where much of his work has concentrated on ultrasonic phased array technology, both as an application engineer and product line manager. He has accumulated more than 20 years of experience in phased array ultrasonics. André Lamarre is now the acting Business Development Manager for the power generation and aerospace industries at Olympus Scientific Solutions Americas.