Date: 4th October 2022
Time: 16:00 – 17:00
Venue: Online
Course Overview
This course will provide an overview of the state of the art and emerging trends in the use of robotics for operation, maintenance and inspection of wind turbines. Whilst the focus will be primarily on offshore and floating wind turbines, ongoing GDG projects related to onshore wind will also be discussed.
Course Content
Marine operations required to transfer technicians and equipment represent a significant proportion of the total cost of offshore wind. In particular, the profile of sites being considered for floating offshore wind farms (FOWFs), e.g., further from the shore and in harsher environments, indicates that these costs need to be assessed by taking into account the maintenance requirements and restricted weather windows.
There is an immediate need to investigate the potential use of robotic systems in the wind farm’s operations and maintenance (O&M) activities, to reduce the need for costly manned visits. The use of robotic systems can be critical, not only to replace repetitive activities and bring down the levelized cost of energy but also to reduce the health and safety risks by supporting human operators in performing the desired inspections.
This lecture provides a review of the state of the art in the applications of robotics for O&M of FOWFs. Emerging technology trends and associated challenges and opportunities are highlighted, followed by an outline of the agenda for future research in this domain.
Who Should Attend?
Those who have recently move into or are looking to move into the wind energy industry.
About the Speaker
Dr. Cian Desmond is Head of Innovation at Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) where he leads a portfolio of R&D projects. These projects are targeted at progressing the sustainable development of critical energy infrastructure including: offshore wind, floating wind, green hydrogen and geothermal.
Mr. Omer Khalid is a final year PhD student whose research is focused on the use of robotics in offshore and floating wind energy projects. The core content of this lecture will be drawn from Omer’s recent publication in the Journal of Wind Energy and is subseguent work whilst seconded to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Corlorado, USA.