A detection device and method for deicing wind turbine blade heating system

Abstract

A deicing wind turbine blade heating system detection device and method, after turning on the deicing wind turbine blade heating system to put it in working state, control the visible light imager and infrared thermal imager of the unmanned aerial vehicle to synchronously capture the visible light image and infrared thermal image of the same area of ​​the wind turbine blade, use the visible light image to determine the area corresponding to the captured image on the wind turbine blade heating element position distribution map, and superimpose the infrared thermal image with the area, calibrate the heating element position on the infrared thermal image, compare the temperature data corresponding to the position of each heating element, and when the percentage of the temperature at the position of some heating elements is lower than the corresponding temperature of other heating elements exceeds the set threshold, it is determined that the heating elements are faulty. This method is less affected by the ambient temperature and the detection result is more accurate. It can realize remote detection of the deicing wind turbine blade heating system, which helps to save manpower, improve efficiency, and has higher safety.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for detecting a wind turbine blade, in particular to a device and method for detecting a heating system of a deicing wind turbine blade. Background Art

[0002] Wind power generation is a clean energy source and has received widespread attention from the world in recent years. Wind turbine blades are one of the important components of wind turbines, and their surface conditions have an important impact on the operation of wind turbines. In cold winter, wind turbine blades are prone to ice on their surfaces during actual operation, which not only reduces the aerodynamic efficiency of the airfoil, but also affects the available efficiency of the unit. Wind turbine blade anti-icing / deicing technology has become an important factor to consider in the design of wind turbines. Different heating anti-icing / deicing methods have been described in many patents, such as patent number CN: 200920000677.X, which uses resistors to generate heat for anti-icing / deicing; in order to be able to take anti-icing / deicing measures in time, methods for monitoring and judging the temperature of the blade surface and methods for detecting the icing condition of wind turbine blades have also been proposed in many patents. Regardless of whether the heating device is placed inside or on the surface of the blade, the good condition of the heating system can ensure the normal anti-icing / deicing function of the blade. Various unavoidable dynamic factors such as cold and hot cycles, lightning strikes, ultraviolet radiation, dust and debris erosion, blade vibration, etc. will cause the failure of the heating system. How to effectively detect the condition of the blade heating system and ensure the blade anti-icing / de-icing function has an important impact on the normal operation of the blade under low temperature and cold conditions.

[0003] The installed wind turbine blades are at the top of the tower. The regular inspection of blade defects and damage generally relies on inspectors standing on the ground to visually inspect, use high-power telescopes to check, and listen to the sound to judge the operation of the blades, but these methods are not suitable for measuring the surface temperature of the blades. It is time-consuming and laborious to manually inspect the surface or internal heating device of the blades through a hanging basket or climbing, and it is impossible to fully detect the surface temperature of the blades, which leaves a great hidden danger to the normal operation of the de-icing blades. Existing drone detection devices are usually used to detect conditions such as target surface breakage, and cannot specifically detect the failure of the internal heating device of the blade. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a detection method and device which can be used to detect operating failures of a deicing wind turbine blade heating system.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above technical problems is: a deicing wind turbine blade heating system detection method, comprising the following steps:

[0006] (1) Turn on the de-icing wind turbine blade heating system and put its heating elements into working condition.

[0007] (2) Control the UAV to fly in front of the wind turbine blades, and adjust the distance between the UAV and the wind turbine blades as well as the shooting direction of the visible light imager and infrared thermal imager on the UAV.

[0008] (3) When the distance and angle between the visible light imager and the infrared thermal imager and the wind turbine blade are adjusted to a suitable position, the visible light imager and the infrared thermal imager are controlled to synchronously capture the visible light image and the infrared thermal image of the same area of ​​the wind turbine blade.

[0009] (4) The captured visible light image and infrared thermal image are transmitted to the ground equipment for processing and analysis, and the captured visible light image is used to determine the area corresponding to the captured image on the pre-stored wind turbine blade heating element position distribution map.

[0010] (5) Overlay the captured infrared thermal image with the area determined on the wind turbine blade heating element position distribution map, and then mark the heating element position on the infrared thermal image.

[0011] (6) Compare the temperature data corresponding to the positions of the heating elements on the infrared thermal image. When the percentage of the temperature at the positions of some heating elements is lower than the corresponding temperature of other heating elements and exceeds the set threshold, it is determined that the heating elements are faulty.

[0012] While controlling the shooting of visible light images and infrared thermal images, the tilt angle information of the visible light imager and the infrared thermal imager is collected, and the collected tilt angle information is used to perform deformity correction on the shot visible light images and infrared thermal images.

[0013] A detection device used in a de-icing wind turbine blade heating system detection method includes an unmanned aerial vehicle, a ground controller for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a ground central control console for processing data. The unmanned aerial vehicle is provided with an aircraft controller for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle according to an operation instruction of the ground controller, a visible light imager for shooting visible light images, and an aircraft position sensor for detecting the height and position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle is also equipped with an infrared thermal imager for shooting infrared thermal images and a thermal imager position sensor for detecting the distance between the infrared thermal imager and a shooting target. The infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager are arranged in parallel and have the same shooting direction; the shooting control ports of the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager are connected to the same shooting instruction output port; the unmanned aerial vehicle is also provided with a data transmission component for transmitting images shot by the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager to the ground central control console; and a memory for storing a position distribution map of wind turbine blade heating elements is arranged in the ground central control console.

[0014] The unmanned aerial vehicle is provided with a detection controller for controlling the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager to shoot. The detection controller communicates with the ground controller through a data transmission component, and its shooting instruction output port is simultaneously connected to the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager.

[0015] The ground central control console is integrated with the ground controller.

[0016] The ground central control console is wirelessly connected to the ground controller via a wireless signal transmission component.

[0017] The ground controller is provided with a first control unit which is wirelessly connected to the aircraft controller to control the flight attitude of the unmanned aircraft, and a second control unit which is wirelessly connected to the detection controller to control the shooting focal length and angle of the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager.

[0018] The ground central control console is provided with an analysis and processing unit for comparing and analyzing the images taken by the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager and the heating element distribution position map stored in the memory.

[0019] The unmanned aerial vehicle is provided with an inclination angle detector for measuring the inclination angles of the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: synchronously taking visible light images and infrared thermal images of the same area of ​​a wind turbine blade, using the photographed visible light images to determine the area corresponding to the photographed image on the wind turbine blade heating element position distribution map, and after superimposing the infrared thermal image with the area, comparing the temperature difference at the location of each heating element to determine whether the heating element is faulty. Compared with the method of simply analyzing by taking infrared thermal images, it is not only easier to determine the area of ​​the wind turbine blade, but also the method of comparing the temperature difference at the location of each heating element is less affected by the ambient temperature, and the detection result is more accurate.

[0021] In the device provided, the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager are arranged in parallel with the same shooting direction and are controlled by the same shooting command output port. The visible light image and infrared thermal image of the same area of ​​the wind turbine blade can be synchronously captured, and the captured visible light image and infrared thermal image are transmitted to the ground central control console so that the two can be combined and compared with the stored wind turbine blade heating element position distribution map to determine whether the heating element is working normally. The device can realize remote detection of the deicing wind turbine blade heating system, which helps save manpower, improve efficiency, and is safer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the detection device of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2It is a schematic diagram of detection control and information transmission of the present invention.

[0024] Markings in the figure: 1. Unmanned aerial vehicle, 2. Aircraft position sensor, 3. Aircraft controller, 4. Data transmission component, 5. Infrared thermal imager position sensor, 6. Visible light imager, 7. Infrared thermal imager, 8. First control unit, 9. Second control unit, 10. Receiver unit, 11. Analysis and processing unit, 12. Display terminal, 13. Ground central control console, 14. Ground controller, 15. Ground, 16. Detection controller, 17. Tilt angle detector, 18. Memory. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] As shown in the figure, the deicing wind turbine blade heating system detection device of the present invention includes an unmanned aerial vehicle 1, a ground controller 14 for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle and a ground central control console 13 for processing data. The unmanned aerial vehicle is provided with an aircraft controller 3 for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the operation instructions of the ground controller and an aircraft position sensor 2 for detecting the height and position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 adopts the existing unmanned aerial vehicle technology, and the specific structure and control method are not described in detail. The ground controller 14 and the ground central control console 13 can be integrated to process and analyze the data collected by the unmanned aerial vehicle while operating the unmanned aerial vehicle for detection. When the amount of data to be processed is large, the size and weight of the data analysis and processing unit may affect the portability of the ground controller 14. At this time, the ground controller 14 and the ground central control console 13 can be separately set, and the collected data is temporarily stored in the ground controller 14 and then processed centrally, or the ground controller 14 and the ground central control console 13 are wirelessly connected through a wireless signal transmission component, and the ground controller 14 remotely transmits the data to the ground central control console 13.

[0027] The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is also provided with a visible light imager 6 for shooting visible light images, an infrared thermal imager 7 for shooting infrared thermal images, and a thermal imager position sensor 5 for detecting the distance between the infrared thermal imager and the shooting target. The infrared thermal imager 7 and the visible light imager 6 are arranged in parallel, and have the same shooting direction. At the same time, the shooting areas of the two should be roughly the same. In order to keep the target positions shot by the infrared thermal imager 7 and the visible light imager 6 consistent, the shooting control ports of the infrared thermal imager 7 and the visible light imager 6 are connected to the same shooting command output port. For example, the shooting command output port of the detection controller 16 set in the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is connected to the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager at the same time. When the detection controller 16 outputs a control command, the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager can be controlled to shoot synchronously at the same time. In addition to the first control unit 8 wirelessly connected to the aircraft controller 3 to control the flight posture of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the ground controller 14 is also provided with a second control unit 9 wirelessly connected to the detection controller to control the shooting focal length and angle of the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager. The detection controller 16 communicates with the ground controller 14 via the data transmission component 4 provided on the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 and operates according to the control instructions of the operator.

[0028] The images captured by the infrared thermal imager 7 and the visible light imager 6 are transmitted to the ground central control console 13 through the data transmission component 4. When the ground controller 14 is integrated with the ground central control console 13, the images can be directly transmitted to the central control console 13, for example, a receiver unit 10 is provided in the central control console 13 to receive the image data. When the ground controller 14 is separately provided from the ground central control console 13, the images can be first transmitted to the ground controller 14, and then transmitted to the ground central control console 13 through wireless remote transmission or through a storage medium.

[0029] A memory 18 for storing the position distribution map of the heating elements of the wind turbine blades and an analysis and processing unit 11 for comparing and analyzing the images taken by the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager and the heating element distribution position map stored in the memory are provided in the ground central control console 13. The unmanned aerial vehicle is provided with an inclination angle detector 17 for measuring the inclination angle of the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager.

[0030] Taking the de-icing heating system laid on the leading edge of the wind turbine blade as an example, since the drone is affected by wind conditions and other uncertain factors during flight, the flight mode of the drone needs to be adjusted in time according to the actual movement of the drone. The de-icing wind turbine blade heating system of the wind farm is closely inspected in the season with less wind, including the following steps:

[0031] (1) Turn on the de-icing wind turbine blade heating system and put its heating elements into working condition.

[0032] (2) Measure the actual wind speed of the wind field. According to the real-time wind speed, pre-enter the data of the flight mode of the unmanned aerial vehicle into the first control unit, and start the start button of the unmanned aerial vehicle. During the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, the aircraft position sensor 2 will measure the actual operation data of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and transmit it to the ground controller 14 through the data transmission component. The operator will adjust the flight mode information of the unmanned aerial vehicle in time on the first control unit according to the received flight status information, and control the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the heating area at the leading edge of the wind turbine blade through the flight controller 3. Control the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly in front of the wind turbine blade, and adjust the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the wind turbine blade, as well as the shooting direction of the visible light imager and infrared thermal imager on the unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0033] (3) When the thermal imager position sensor 5 measures that the distance and angle between the visible light imager and the infrared thermal imager and the wind turbine blade are adjusted to a suitable position, the visible light imager and the infrared thermal imager are controlled by the second control unit and the detection controller to synchronously capture the visible light image and the infrared thermal image of the same area of ​​the wind turbine blade.

[0034] (4) The captured visible light image and infrared thermal image are transmitted to the ground central control console and other ground equipment for processing and analysis, and the captured visible light image is used to determine the area corresponding to the captured image on the pre-stored wind turbine blade heating element position distribution map. Before comparative analysis, the captured visible light image and infrared thermal image can be corrected for deformity by using the tilt angle information of the visible light imager and infrared thermal imager collected while controlling the capture of the visible light image and infrared thermal image.

[0035] (5) Overlay the captured infrared thermal image with the area determined on the wind turbine blade heating element position distribution map, and then mark the heating element position on the infrared thermal image.

[0036] (6) Compare the temperature data corresponding to the positions of the heating elements on the infrared thermal image. When the percentage of the temperature at the positions of some heating elements is lower than the corresponding temperature of other heating elements and exceeds the set threshold, it is determined that the heating elements are faulty.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a deicing wind turbine blade heating system, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: (1) Turn on the de-icing wind turbine blade heating system and put its heating elements into working condition; (2) Control the UAV to fly in front of the wind turbine blades, and adjust the distance between the UAV and the wind turbine blades as well as the shooting direction of the visible light imager and infrared thermal imager on the UAV; (3) When the distance and angle between the visible light imager and the infrared thermal imager and the wind turbine blade are adjusted to a suitable position, the visible light imager and the infrared thermal imager are controlled to synchronously capture the visible light image and the infrared thermal image of the same area of ​​the wind turbine blade; (4) transmitting the captured visible light image and infrared thermal image to ground equipment for processing and analysis, and using the captured visible light image to determine the area corresponding to the captured image on the pre-stored wind turbine blade heating element position distribution map; (5) Overlay the captured infrared thermal image with the area determined on the wind turbine blade heating element position distribution map, and then mark the heating element position on the infrared thermal image; (6) Compare the temperature data corresponding to the positions of the heating elements on the infrared thermal image. When the percentage of the temperature at the positions of some heating elements is lower than the corresponding temperature of other heating elements and exceeds the set threshold, it is determined that the heating elements are faulty.

2. A deicing wind turbine blade heating system detection method according to claim 1, characterized in that: While controlling the shooting of visible light images and infrared thermal images, the tilt angle information of the visible light imager and the infrared thermal imager is collected, and the collected tilt angle information is used to perform deformity correction on the shot visible light images and infrared thermal images.

3. A detection device for a deicing wind turbine blade heating system detection method as claimed in claim 1, comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle (1), a ground controller (14) for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle and a ground central control console (13) for processing data, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is provided with an aircraft controller (3) for controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle according to an operation instruction of the ground controller, a visible light imager (6) for taking visible light images and an aircraft position sensor (2) for detecting the height and position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that: The unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is also equipped with an infrared thermal imager (7) for photographing infrared thermal images and a thermal imager position sensor (5) for detecting the distance between the infrared thermal imager and a photographing target. The infrared thermal imager (7) and the visible light imager (6) are arranged in parallel and have the same photographing direction. The photographing control ports of the infrared thermal imager (7) and the visible light imager (6) are connected to the same photographing instruction output port. The unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is also provided with a data transmission component (4) for transmitting images photographed by the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager to a ground central control console (13). A memory (18) for storing a position distribution map of heating elements of wind turbine blades is provided in the ground central control console (13). The ground central control console (13) is provided with an analysis and processing unit (11) for comparing and analyzing images captured by the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager and the heating element distribution position diagram stored in the memory, and the unmanned aerial vehicle is provided with a tilt angle detector (17) for measuring the tilt angle of the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager.

4. The detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is provided with a detection controller (16) for controlling the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager to shoot. The detection controller communicates with the ground controller (14) via a data transmission component (4), and its shooting instruction output port is simultaneously connected to the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager.

5. The detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The ground central control console is integrated with the ground controller.

6. The detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The ground central control console is wirelessly connected to the ground controller via a wireless signal transmission component.

7. The detection device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The ground controller (14) is provided with a first control unit (8) wirelessly connected to the aircraft controller (3) to control the flight posture of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a second control unit (9) wirelessly connected to the detection controller to control the focal length and angle of the infrared thermal imager and the visible light imager.

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