How Do We Determine Optimal Inspection Frequency?The old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – a 16-fold return on investment in this case – is severely conservative when it comes to maintenance of wind turbine rotor blades. The cost of repairing early-stage damage – or even better, implementing remediation solutions for serial issues before damage occurs in most blades – is often minuscule compared with the cost of a single catastrophic failure. Within the next few years, the industry must evolve to a practice of routine scheduled inspections followed by proactive repair and remediation in order to minimise the life-cycle cost of ownership.
By Dr Kyle Wetzel, Vice President Blade Services, SkySpecs, USA
