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Wind Turbine Inspection Applications

Applied Technical Services (ATS)
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Wind Turbine Inspection Applications
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Applied Technical Services (ATS)
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Wind Turbine Inspection Applications
Two pick-up trucks are overshadowed by the massive blades of a downed wind turbine. Beyond the turbine is a desert landscape of bushes, clay earth, and a distant wind farm.

Wind Turbine Inspection Applications

The Applied Technical Services Family of Companies (FoC) evaluates wind tower conditions and structural integrity through various wind turbine inspection applications. A turbine’s safe and reliable operation depends on how well the components endure severe environments and strict performance demands. Our experts inspect heavy-duty equipment for flaws and damage below the surface level before catastrophic failure or outages occur.

Wind turbines often consist of massive components vulnerable to damage during manufacturing and operation. Potentially hazardous conditions and damage include:

  • Storm damage, lightning, wind, temperature
  • Corrosion, dross
  • Cracking, splitting, strain
Qualified NDI Technicians

Our highly qualified and experienced nondestructive inspection (NDI) technicians adhere to GWO training standards when inspecting thousands of turbines domestically and internationally. Many ATS inspectors hold licenses, certifications, and accreditations for various inspection services. Our team includes certified weld inspectors (CWIs), NDT-certified technicians, professional engineers, and API inspectors.

We often reach components through standard and non-standards means, including:

  • Lift basket
  • Disassembly

We can complement inspections with nondestructive methods to detect issues below the surface:

Nondestructive Inspections by Wind Turbine Components

Our technicians inspect turbine components for signs of wear and tear, design flaws, and damage that may not be obvious from the ground. Regular inspections are crucial to uncovering flaws before failure occurs. ATS offers many of these inspections in situ or at manufacturing facilities.

Wind Turbine Blades

We typically perform blade inspections with visual testing or semi-automated ultrasonics. The NDI team has experience inspecting field and manufacturing issues on thousands of blades worldwide. We typically inspect and measure the following:

Wind Turbine Hubs

Wind turbine hubs experience enormous stress while in operation. We perform ultrasonic inspections in stress areas and attachment bolts to uncover signs of failure. These components include:
  • Main shaft
  • Hub-to-blade connection
  • Hub-to-main shaft interface

We typically perform bolt tensioning inspection at the time of installation or during rework.

Turbine Frames

We can examine the turbine’s welded or cast frames for damage and flaws that may compromise the frame over time. Using magnetic particle testing (MT) or ultrasonic testing (UT), our experts can detect and evaluate flaws to determine if the frame can continue service or needs repair. We have inspected:

Bolts

We take critical bolt measurements and detect defects using UT. This service covers the various types of bolts used in turbine hubs, flanges, and gearboxes. Whether it be simple soundness, or verification of the bolt tensioning process, ATS has the tools and talented technicians to fulfill your needs.

Welds

ATS can send certified welding inspectors and qualified NDI inspectors to examine tower section welds in accordance with the manufacturing code. These examinations are typically semi-automated:
  • Tower welds
  • Door welds
  • Tower bolt tensioning
  • Tower material
  • Tower attachment welds (i.e., deck supports and ladder attachment points)
Research and Development
ATS excels at developing high production procedures and processes for wind turbine inspections to meet customer needs and regulations Our experts can plan and complete field examinations, develop a training curriculum, and manufacture components needed for these services.

The examples below are production rates for some in situ examinations:

  • Blade Inspection (In situ) – Bond line measurements – Shear web and trailing edge bond lines and the full length of the blade (Suction and Pressure sides)
  • Tower Inspection (In situ) – Semi-automated PAUT inspection per AWS D1.1
  • Lighting damage assessment – Measurement of the damaged area (Spanwise/Chordwise)
  • Bolt Tensioning – Development of bolt tensioning process for field examination of tower shell studs
  • Bed Plates

Inspections performed on the ground or manufacturing facilities typically require twice the production rate of in situ inspections.

About ATS

ATS provides a wide range of consulting engineering, calibration, inspection, and testing services to national and international clients. Some of the industries we support include renewable energy, power generation, and aerospace. We test to industry standards from NADCAP, API, and ASTM. ATS is also A2LA-accredited in on-site and laboratory services:

Contact Us
Call +1 (888) 287-5227 to learn more about our wind turbine inspection applications. To schedule an inspection, contact us by phone or complete the form on this page.

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NDI Inspections