Flexible rack-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system and method

Abstract

This invention discloses a wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot system and method based on flexible toothed rails, including a flexible toothed rail assembly, a toothed rail inspection robot, a track switching assembly, a detection module, and a control module. The flexible toothed rail assembly consists of two sets: one set is disposed in the leading edge cavity of the blade and arranged on the leading edge web of the wind turbine blade, and the other set is disposed in the trailing edge cavity of the blade and arranged on the trailing edge web of the blade. The toothed rail inspection robot is movably mounted on either flexible toothed rail assembly and meshes with it. The track switching assembly is positioned between the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies. The detection module is mounted on the top of the mechanical arm of the toothed rail inspection robot via a first rotating gimbal. The control module is mounted on the toothed rail inspection robot and is communicatively connected to the track switching assembly, the toothed rail inspection robot, and the detection module. This invention achieves stable, comprehensive, and efficient non-destructive testing of the blade internal cavity under complex conditions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of wind turbine blade maintenance, and in particular to a wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system and method based on a flexible toothed rail. Background Technology

[0002] Large composite blades are core components of wind turbine generators, and their internal health directly affects the overall operational safety and service life of the turbine. Wind turbine blades are typically hollow structures with internal web reinforcement. During manufacturing, transportation, and operation, defects such as cracks, delamination, and debonding may occur within the blade cavity. Currently, methods for inspecting the blade cavity are very limited and have many problems: endoscopes have limited inspection range, cannot accurately locate objects, and are difficult to navigate and support camera equipment in complex internal structures; manual inspection is only suitable for a very small number of sufficiently large blades, which not only poses high safety risks and low inspection efficiency but also has limited access distance, failing to cover narrow areas such as the blade tip; trackless inspection robots, using wheeled, tracked, or suction cup adsorption methods, walk directly on the inner wall of the blade, but are prone to slipping and falling on smooth or angled composite material inner walls, and lack sufficient driving force and stability, making it difficult to ensure reliable blade inspection throughout the entire process.

[0003] In summary, existing testing technologies are insufficient to meet the requirements for stable, comprehensive, and efficient testing of the internal cavity of wind turbine blades, and there is an urgent need to develop a new testing technology solution to address these issues. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot inspection system based on flexible toothed rails, so as to achieve stable, comprehensive and efficient non-destructive testing in the complex environment of the blade internal cavity.

[0005] Another objective of this invention is to provide a method for inspecting the inner cavity of wind turbine blades using a robot based on a flexible toothed rail.

[0006] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0007] A flexible toothed rail-based robotic inspection system for the internal cavity of wind turbine blades includes a flexible toothed rail assembly, a toothed rail inspection robot, a track switching assembly, a detection module, and a control module. Two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies are provided: one set is located in the inner cavity of the blade's leading edge and is arranged on the leading edge web of the wind turbine blade; the other set is located in the inner cavity of the blade's trailing edge and is arranged on the trailing edge web of the blade. Each set of flexible toothed rail assemblies extends from the blade root to the blade tip. The toothed rail inspection robot is movably mounted on either flexible toothed rail assembly and meshes with it. The robot can move along the flexible toothed rail assembly... The robot moves repeatedly; the switching track assembly is located between two sets of flexible toothed track assemblies to enable the toothed track inspection robot to switch its walking path between the two sets of flexible toothed track assemblies; the detection module is mounted on the top of the mechanical arm of the toothed track inspection robot via a first rotating gimbal to perform multiple detection sampling on the defective or damaged areas of the blade; the control module is mounted on the toothed track inspection robot and is communicatively connected to the switching track assembly, the toothed track inspection robot, and the detection module, respectively, to issue switching track commands and detection commands according to remote commands, and to receive detection sampling data, thereby determining whether there are defects or damage on the blade.

[0008] Furthermore, the flexible toothed rail assembly includes a first flexible toothed rail and a second flexible toothed rail; the first flexible toothed rail is mounted on the leading edge web or the trailing edge web; the second flexible toothed rail is mounted on the leading edge web or the trailing edge web while maintaining a distance from the first flexible toothed rail, and is located on the side closer to the blade root; an installation space for installing the switching rail assembly is formed between the second flexible toothed rail and the first flexible toothed rail.

[0009] Furthermore, the switching track assembly includes a switching lift, a connecting bracket, a U-shaped flexible toothed rail, and an H-shaped flexible toothed rail; the switching lift is fixed to the inner cavity of the blade and is communicatively connected to the control module; the connecting bracket is fixed to the drive rod of the switching lift; the U-shaped flexible toothed rail and the H-shaped flexible toothed rail are arranged vertically and connected to the connecting bracket respectively; the U-shaped opening of the U-shaped flexible toothed rail faces the blade root, and its two sides correspond one-to-one with the two second flexible toothed rails of the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies. The switching lift drives the U-shaped flexible toothed rail to move until it is flush with the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies, so that the ends of its two sides correspond to the two second flexible toothed rails of the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies respectively. The two flexible toothed rails are connected, and the toothed rail inspection robot switches its walking path between two second flexible toothed rails via a U-shaped flexible toothed rail. The H-shaped flexible toothed rail is fixed to the top of the U-shaped flexible toothed rail, and its two sides correspond one-to-one with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components. The switching elevator drives the H-shaped flexible toothed rail to move to be flush with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components, so that the two ends of one side are connected with the first and second flexible toothed rails of the corresponding flexible toothed rail components, and the two ends of the other side are connected with the first and second flexible toothed rails of the corresponding flexible toothed rail components, thereby realizing the reciprocating movement of the toothed rail inspection robot from the blade root to the blade tip.

[0010] Furthermore, the cross-sections of the first flexible toothed rail and the second flexible toothed rail are both I-shaped, each including a middle connecting plate and two side plates perpendicularly connected to both ends of the middle connecting plate, and one side plate is fixed to the front edge web plate or the rear edge web plate, while the other side plate has a toothed structure.

[0011] Furthermore, the toothed rail inspection robot includes a base plate, a drive box, a drive motor, a drive gear, a second rotating gimbal, a second rotating gimbal motor, a robotic arm, a swing arm motor, a battery pack, a wireless charging receiver module, and a wireless charging transmitter module. The drive box is located on top of the base plate. The drive motor is a self-locking drive motor, located inside the drive box and communicatively connected to the control module, with its output shaft connected to the drive gear. The drive gear passes through the drive box and through the base plate to mesh with the flexible toothed rail assembly, and is driven by the drive motor to move along the flexible toothed rail assembly. The second rotating gimbal is mounted on top of the drive box. The second rotating gimbal motor is mounted inside the second rotating gimbal, and its output gear meshes with the internal gear ring of the second rotating gimbal. The bottom of the robotic arm is connected to the top of the second rotating gimbal. The robot arm is hinged and driven by a second rotating gimbal motor, which in turn drives the second rotating gimbal motor to rotate. The swing arm motor is installed inside the second rotating gimbal and is communicatively connected to the control module; its output shaft has a toothed structure. A gear is provided at the end of the hinge shaft between the robot arm and the second rotating gimbal. This gear meshes with the toothed structure of the swing motor's output shaft, driving the robot arm to swing around the hinge shaft. The battery pack and wireless charging receiver module are respectively installed on the top of the base plate, and the wireless charging transmitter module is installed on the leading or trailing edge web near the blade root. The battery pack provides power. After completing the inspection, the toothed rail inspection robot automatically resets to the leading or trailing edge web near the blade root. At this time, the wireless charging receiver module can engage with the wireless charging transmitter module to wirelessly charge the battery pack.

[0012] Furthermore, the bottom of the substrate is movably mounted on the flexible gear assembly via at least one set of driven clamping wheel assemblies; each set of driven clamping wheel assemblies includes two driven clamping wheels, which are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the intermediate connecting plate of the first or second flexible gear; and the bushing of the driven clamping wheel has a built-in damping spring, which can automatically adjust the clamping force according to the curvature of each flexible gear, so as to avoid uneven force on a single driven clamping wheel leading to meshing failure.

[0013] Furthermore, the detection module integrates a video camera for taking pictures, an infrared thermal imager for automatically focusing and measuring the temperature of the blade, an ultrasonic flaw detector for detecting defects and damage in the blade's internal cavity, and a laser rangefinder for detecting the distance between the sampling position and the sampling position.

[0014] Furthermore, both the first flexible toothed rail and the second flexible toothed rail adopt an integral structure or a segmented hinged structure, with adjacent segments connected by elastic hinges.

[0015] Furthermore, an auxiliary lighting module is provided on the first rotating gimbal.

[0016] Another objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0017] A method for inspecting the internal cavity of wind turbine blades using a flexible toothed rail robot is disclosed. This method is implemented based on the aforementioned flexible toothed rail-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot system and includes the following steps:

[0018] S1. Remotely send detection commands to the control module, which then controls the toothed rail inspection robot to move along the blade root towards the blade tip, while simultaneously detecting the trailing edge area of ​​the blade through the detection module.

[0019] S2. Determine if there are defects or damage in the trailing edge region of the blade: If there are defects or damage, control the toothed rail inspection robot to reduce its moving speed to 20%~30% of the original speed, and use the detection module to perform multiple samplings near the defective or damaged area; If there are no defects or damage, control the toothed rail inspection robot to automatically return to the designated position at the blade root after completing the detection of the trailing edge region of the blade.

[0020] S3. The control module issues a track switching command, and switches the H-shaped flexible toothed rail to be aligned with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components by switching the track components to be aligned with the U-shaped flexible toothed rail components. Then, the toothed rail inspection robot is controlled to move along the U-shaped flexible toothed rail from the inner cavity of the trailing edge of the blade to the inner cavity of the leading edge of the blade.

[0021] S4. The control module issues a track switching command again to switch the U-shaped flexible toothed rail and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components to an H-shaped flexible toothed rail and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components. Then, the toothed rail inspection robot is controlled to move along the blade root to the blade tip, and the detection module detects the leading edge area of ​​the blade.

[0022] S5. Determine if there are defects or damage in the leading edge area of ​​the blade: If there are defects or damage, control the toothed rail inspection robot to reduce its moving speed to 20%~30% of the original speed, and use the detection module to perform multiple samplings near the defective or damaged area; If there are no defects or damage, control the toothed rail inspection robot to automatically return to the designated position at the blade root after completing the detection of the leading edge area of ​​the blade.

[0023] S6. The control module issues a track switching command, which switches the H-shaped flexible toothed rail to be aligned with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components by switching the track components to be aligned with the U-shaped flexible toothed rail components. Then, the toothed rail inspection robot is controlled to move along the U-shaped flexible toothed rail from the inner cavity of the leading edge of the blade to the inner cavity of the trailing edge of the blade, and then continues to move towards the blade root until the wireless charging transmitter module of the toothed rail inspection robot contacts the wireless charging receiver module, and starts the wireless charging of the toothed rail inspection robot.

[0024] S7. The control module issues a track switching command again to switch the U-shaped flexible toothed rail and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components to an H-shaped flexible toothed rail and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components. The charging ends after the toothed rail inspection robot is fully charged. During the charging process, the inspection record is sorted out and the test results are fed back to the remote terminal via wireless transmission.

[0025] S8. After charging is complete, control the geared rail inspection robot to enter standby mode and wait for the next work instruction.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial effects:

[0027] 1. The robot and flexible gear rail assembly of the present invention adopt gear-rack meshing transmission, which has a large driving force and completely solves the problem of slipping and falling on smooth inclined surfaces, ensuring the continuity of inspection operations. The whole system has high stability and reliability.

[0028] 2. The track design of this invention can reach the blade tip, enabling full-range detection of the blade's inner cavity and achieving complete blade coverage detection without leaving any blind spots.

[0029] 3. The robot driving method of the present invention has a large driving force, which allows the robot to carry a variety of relatively heavy detection devices. In one operation, multiple detection devices such as visual detection, infrared detection, and ultrasonic detection can work together.

[0030] 4. This invention uses tracks and robots to replace manual entry into high-risk confined spaces, and automated operations ensure personnel safety and improve operational safety.

[0031] 5. This invention adopts a combination design of track and robot to achieve rapid automated detection. The robot's position is controllable and repeatable, which facilitates accurate positioning and re-examination of suspicious parts, thereby improving detection efficiency and accuracy.

[0032] 6. This invention features wireless charging and wireless data transmission capabilities, enabling data to be transmitted to a remote terminal in a timely manner. It allows for real-time acquisition of blade status and automatic return to the initial position for autonomous charging via the wireless charging receiver module after inspection, greatly reducing human intervention.

[0033] 7. This invention has a track switching function, which allows a robot to perform cavity detection on the leading and trailing edges of blades without human intervention, thereby improving detection efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the detection system of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 2 This is a partial schematic diagram of the detection system of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the flexible gear rail assembly of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 4 This is a partial schematic diagram of the flexible toothed rail assembly of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the track switching assembly of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 6 This is one of the switching diagrams of the switching track assembly of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 7 This is the second schematic diagram of the switching track assembly of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 8 This is an exploded view of the toothed track inspection robot of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 9 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of the toothed track inspection robot of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 10 This is the second structural schematic diagram of the toothed track inspection robot of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 11 This is a cross-sectional view of the toothed track inspection robot of the present invention.

[0045] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of the detection method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0046] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0047] Example 1:

[0048] like Figures 1 to 2As shown, this embodiment provides a wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system based on a flexible toothed rail, including a flexible toothed rail assembly 1, a switching track assembly 2, a toothed rail inspection robot 3, a detection module 4, and a control module 5. The flexible toothed rail assembly 1 has two sets, one set disposed in the blade leading edge cavity 701 and arranged on the leading edge web 702 of the wind turbine blade 7, and the other set disposed in the blade trailing edge cavity 703 and arranged on the trailing edge web 704 of the blade 7. Each set of flexible toothed rail assemblies 1 extends along the blade root to the blade tip. The toothed rail inspection robot 3 is movably mounted on any of the flexible toothed rail assemblies 1 and meshes with it, allowing it to reciprocate along the flexible toothed rail assembly 1. The switching track assembly 2 is disposed between the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies 1 and located within a pre-defined channel 705 between the leading edge web 702 and the trailing edge web 704. The switching track assembly 2 enables the toothed track inspection robot 3 to switch its walking path between the two sets of flexible toothed track assemblies 1, facilitating the autonomous movement of the toothed track inspection robot 3 between the leading edge inner cavity 701 and the trailing edge inner cavity 703 of the blade. The detection module 4 is mounted on the top of the mechanical arm 306 of the toothed track inspection robot 3 via the first rotating gimbal 6, and is used to perform multiple detection sampling on the defect or damaged area of ​​the blade 7, including visual, thermal imaging, and structural flaw detection sampling data. The control module 5 is mounted on the toothed track inspection robot 3 and is communicatively connected to the switching track assembly 2, the toothed track inspection robot 3, and the detection module 4. The control module 5 integrates a wireless data transmission module 501 for communication with a remote terminal. The control module 5 is used to issue switching track commands and detection commands according to remote commands, and to receive detection sampling data, thereby determining whether there are defects or damage on the blade 7.

[0049] like Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, the flexible toothed rail assembly 1 is made of lightweight, high-strength non-metallic materials (such as carbon fiber or high-performance engineering plastics), possessing both rigidity and flexibility. It can be bent to adapt to the curved surface of the blade 7's inner cavity, while also exhibiting good lightning protection performance. Specifically, it includes a first flexible toothed rail 101 and a second flexible toothed rail 102. The first flexible toothed rail 101 is mounted on the leading edge web 702 or the trailing edge web 704. The second flexible toothed rail 102 is spaced apart from the first flexible toothed rail 101 and mounted on the leading edge web 702 or the trailing edge web 704, located on the side closest to the blade root. An installation space for mounting the switching rail assembly 2 is formed between the second flexible toothed rail 102 and the first flexible toothed rail 101.

[0050] The first flexible toothed rail 101 and the second flexible toothed rail 102 both have an I-shaped cross-section, including an intermediate connecting plate and two side plates perpendicularly connected to both ends of the intermediate connecting plate. One side plate is fixed to the front edge web plate 702 or the rear edge web plate 704, and the other side plate has a toothed structure. The first flexible toothed rail 101 and the second flexible toothed rail 102 need to be pre-installed on the front edge web plate 702 or the rear edge web plate 704. The installation method can be by adhesive bonding or by pre-embedding bolts in the web plate. When the blade 7 is manufactured and molded, it is installed in the inner cavity of the blade 7 together with the web plate.

[0051] The first flexible gear 101 and the second flexible gear 102 can be an integral structure or a segmented hinged structure, with adjacent segments connected by elastic hinges.

[0052] like Figures 5 to 7 As shown, the switching track assembly 2 includes a switching lift 201, a U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202, an H-shaped flexible toothed rail 203, and a connecting bracket 204. The switching lift 201 is fixed to the inner cavity of the blade 7 and is communicatively connected to the control module 5. The connecting bracket 204 is fixed to the drive rod of the switching lift 201. The U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202 and the H-shaped flexible toothed rail 203 are arranged vertically and connected to the connecting bracket 204 respectively. The U-shaped opening of the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202 faces the blade root, and its two sides correspond one-to-one with the two second flexible toothed rails 102 of the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies 1. The switching lift 201 drives the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202 to move until it is flush with the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies 1, so that the ends of its two sides are respectively connected to the two second flexible toothed rails 102 of the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies 1. The second flexible toothed rail 102 is connected, and the toothed rail inspection robot 3 switches its walking path between the two second flexible toothed rails 102 via the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202; the H-shaped flexible toothed rail 203 is fixed to the top of the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202, and its two sides correspond one-to-one with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components 1. The switching elevator 201 drives the H-shaped flexible toothed rail to move to be flush with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components 1, so that the two ends of one side are connected to the first flexible toothed rail 101 and the second flexible toothed rail 102 of the corresponding flexible toothed rail component 1, and the two ends of the other side are connected to the first flexible toothed rail 101 and the second flexible toothed rail 102 of the corresponding flexible toothed rail component 1, thereby realizing the reciprocating movement of the toothed rail inspection robot 3 from the blade root to the blade tip.

[0053] like Figures 8 to 11As shown, the geared rail inspection robot 3 includes a base plate 301, a drive box 302, a drive motor 303, a drive gear 304, a second rotating gimbal 305, a second rotating gimbal motor 314, a robotic arm 306, a swing arm motor 307, a battery pack 308, a wireless charging receiver module 309, and a wireless charging transmitter module 310. The drive box 302 is located on top of the base plate 301. The drive motor 303 is a self-locking drive motor, which is located inside the drive box 302 and is communicatively connected to the control module 5. Its output shaft is connected to the drive gear 304. The drive gear 304 extends out of the drive box 302 and passes through the base plate 301. Plate 301 meshes with the toothed structure of the flexible gear assembly 1. Driven by drive motor 303, drive gear 304 to move along the flexible gear assembly 1. This "gear-rack" meshing drive provides strong traction and anti-slip capability, ensuring that the gear inspection robot 3 can move stably when the blade 7 is in a horizontal, inclined or even vertical state. At the same time, through its self-locking function, it can be locked at any position on the flexible gear assembly 1. After the inspection is completed, the gear inspection robot 3 stops and locks at the designated position to prevent movement during the operation of the fan. The second rotating gimbal 305 is installed on the top of the drive box 302. The second rotary gimbal motor 314 is installed inside the second rotary gimbal 305, and its output gear meshes with the internal gear ring 3051 of the second rotary gimbal 305. The bottom of the robotic arm 306 is hinged to the top of the second rotary gimbal 305, and the second rotary gimbal 305 is driven to rotate by the second rotary gimbal motor 314, which in turn drives the robotic arm 306 to rotate. The swing arm motor 307 is installed inside the second rotary gimbal 305, and it is communicatively connected to the control module 5. Its output shaft is machined with a toothed structure. A gear 311 is provided at the end of the hinge shaft between the robotic arm 306 and the second rotary gimbal 305. This gear 311 meshes with... The toothed structure of the output shaft of the swing motor meshes with the swing arm motor 307 to drive the robotic arm 306 to swing around the hinge axis; the battery pack 308 and the wireless charging receiver module 309 are respectively mounted on the top of the base plate 301, and the wireless charging transmitter module 310 is mounted on the side of the leading edge web 702 or the trailing edge web 704 near the blade root; the battery pack 308 is used for power supply; after completing the inspection, the toothed rail inspection robot 3 automatically resets to the side of the leading edge web 702 or the trailing edge web 704 near the blade root. At this time, the wireless charging receiver module 309 can fit with the wireless charging transmitter module 310 to realize wireless charging of the battery pack 308.

[0054] The bottom of the base plate 301 is movably mounted on the flexible gear assembly 1 via at least one set of driven clamping roller assemblies; each set of driven clamping roller assemblies includes two driven clamping rollers 312, which are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the intermediate connecting plate of the first flexible gear 101 or the second flexible gear 102; and the bushing of the driven clamping roller 312 has a built-in damping spring 313, which can automatically adjust the clamping force according to the curvature of the flexible gear, so as to avoid uneven force on a single driven clamping roller 312 leading to meshing failure.

[0055] The detection module 4 integrates a high-definition video camera for taking pictures, an infrared thermal imager for automatically focusing and measuring temperature of the blade 7, an ultrasonic flaw detector for detecting defects and damage in the internal cavity of the blade 7, and a laser rangefinder for detecting the distance between the sampling position and the blade. Alternatively, one or more combinations of the above can be selected according to actual needs.

[0056] In addition, an auxiliary lighting module and an auxiliary detection module 4 are also installed on the first rotating gimbal 6.

[0057] Example 2:

[0058] like Figure 12 As shown, this embodiment provides a method for inspecting the inner cavity of wind turbine blades using a robot based on a flexible toothed rail. It is implemented based on the wind turbine blade inner cavity inspection robot system based on a flexible toothed rail described in Embodiment 1, and includes the following steps:

[0059] S1. Remotely send a detection command to the control module 5, and the control module 5 controls the toothed rail inspection robot 3 to move along the blade root to the blade tip, while the detection module 4 detects the trailing edge area of ​​the blade 7.

[0060] S2. Determine if there are defects or damage in the trailing edge region of blade 7: If defects or damage exist, control the toothed rail inspection robot 3 to reduce its moving speed to 20%~30% of its original speed, and use the detection module 4 to perform multiple sampling near the defective or damaged area: This includes activating the high-definition video camera to take pictures for evidence, increasing the frequency of the ultrasonic flaw detector from 2~5MHz to 5~10MHz, controlling the infrared thermal imager to automatically focus, and increasing the sampling frequency of the laser rangefinder. By performing multiple sampling near the area where defects or damage are initially determined to exist, the defective area can be accurately verified; If there are no defects or damage, control the toothed rail inspection robot 3 to automatically return to the designated position at the blade root after completing the inspection of the trailing edge region of blade 7.

[0061] S3. The control module 5 issues a track switching command, and the H-shaped flexible toothed rail 203 is switched to be aligned with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components 1 by switching the elevator 201 to be aligned with the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202. Then, the toothed rail inspection robot 3 is controlled to move along the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202 from the inner cavity 703 of the trailing edge of the blade to the inner cavity 701 of the leading edge of the blade.

[0062] S4. The control module 5 issues a track switching command again to switch the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202 and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components 1 to the H-shaped flexible toothed rail 203 and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components 1. Then, the toothed rail inspection robot 3 is controlled to move along the blade root to the blade tip, and the detection module 4 is used to detect the leading edge area of ​​the blade 7.

[0063] S5. Determine if there are defects or damage in the leading edge area of ​​blade 7: If defects or damage exist, control the toothed rail inspection robot 3 to reduce its moving speed to 20%~30% of its original speed. The detection module 4 performs multiple samplings near the defective or damaged area, including activating the high-definition video camera to take pictures for evidence, increasing the frequency of the ultrasonic flaw detector from 2~5MHz to 5~10MHz, controlling the infrared thermal imager to automatically focus, and increasing the sampling frequency of the laser rangefinder. By performing multiple samplings near the area where defects or damage are initially determined, the defective area is accurately verified. If there are no defects or damage, the toothed rail inspection robot 3 completes the inspection of the leading edge area of ​​blade 7 and automatically returns to the designated position at the blade root.

[0064] S6. The control module 5 issues a track switching command, and the H-shaped flexible toothed rail 203 is switched to be aligned with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components 1 by switching the elevator 201 to be aligned with the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202. Then, the toothed rail inspection robot 3 is controlled to move along the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202 from the inner cavity 701 of the leading edge of the blade to the inner cavity 703 of the trailing edge of the blade, and then continues to move towards the root of the blade until the wireless charging transmitter module 310 of the toothed rail inspection robot 3 contacts the wireless charging receiver module 309, and the wireless charging of the toothed rail inspection robot 3 is started.

[0065] S7. The control module 5 issues a track switching command again, switching the U-shaped flexible toothed rail 202 from being aligned with the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies 1 to being aligned with the H-shaped flexible toothed rail 203. Charging ends after the battery pack 308 is fully charged. During the charging process, the inspection record can be organized simultaneously, key defect data can be cached locally, and a traceability QR code with timestamp, location coordinates, and defect level can be generated. The inspection results can be wirelessly transmitted to the remote terminal. During subsequent re-inspections, the original inspection data can be quickly retrieved by scanning the code, improving the traceability of the inspection process.

[0066] S8. After charging and data processing are completed, control the geared rail inspection robot 3 to enter standby mode and wait for the next work instruction.

[0067] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible rack-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system, characterized in that: The system includes a flexible toothed rail assembly, a toothed rail inspection robot, a track switching assembly, a detection module, and a control module. There are two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies: one set is located within the leading edge cavity of the blade and positioned on the leading edge web of the wind turbine blade; the other set is located within the trailing edge cavity of the blade and positioned on the trailing edge web of the blade. Each set of flexible toothed rail assemblies extends from the blade root to the blade tip. The toothed rail inspection robot is movably mounted on either flexible toothed rail assembly and meshes with it, enabling it to reciprocate along the flexible toothed rail assembly. The track switching assembly is equipped with… The system is positioned between two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies to enable the toothed rail inspection robot to switch its walking path between the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies. The detection module is mounted on the top of the mechanical arm of the toothed rail inspection robot via a first rotating gimbal and is used to perform multiple detection sampling on the defective or damaged areas of the blade. The control module is mounted on the toothed rail inspection robot and is communicatively connected to the track switching assembly, the toothed rail inspection robot, and the detection module. It is used to issue track switching commands and detection commands according to remote commands, as well as to receive detection sampling data, and thus determine whether there are defects or damage on the blade.

2. The wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system based on flexible toothed rails according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible toothed rail assembly includes a first flexible toothed rail and a second flexible toothed rail; the first flexible toothed rail is mounted on the leading edge web or the trailing edge web; the second flexible toothed rail is mounted on the leading edge web or the trailing edge web while maintaining a distance from the first flexible toothed rail, and is located on the side closer to the blade root; an installation space for installing a switching rail assembly is formed between the second flexible toothed rail and the first flexible toothed rail.

3. The wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system based on a flexible toothed rail according to claim 2, characterized in that: The switching track assembly includes a switching lift, a connecting bracket, a U-shaped flexible toothed rail, and an H-shaped flexible toothed rail. The switching lift is fixed to the inner cavity of the blade and is communicatively connected to the control module. The connecting bracket is fixed to the drive rod of the switching lift. The U-shaped flexible toothed rail and the H-shaped flexible toothed rail are arranged vertically and connected to the connecting bracket respectively. The U-shaped opening of the U-shaped flexible toothed rail faces the blade root, and its two sides correspond one-to-one with the two second flexible toothed rails of the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies. The switching lift drives the U-shaped flexible toothed rail to move until it is flush with the two sets of flexible toothed rail assemblies, so that the ends of its two sides respectively align with the two second flexible toothed rails. The toothed rail inspection robot uses a U-shaped flexible toothed rail to switch its travel path between two second flexible toothed rails. The H-shaped flexible toothed rail is fixed to the top of the U-shaped flexible toothed rail, with its two sides corresponding to the two sets of flexible toothed rail components. The switching elevator drives the H-shaped flexible toothed rail to move until it is flush with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components, so that the two ends of one side of it connect with the first and second flexible toothed rails of the corresponding flexible toothed rail components, and the two ends of the other side of it connect with the first and second flexible toothed rails of the corresponding flexible toothed rail components, thereby realizing the reciprocating movement of the toothed rail inspection robot from the blade root to the blade tip.

4. The flexible rack-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system of claim 2, wherein: The first flexible toothed rail and the second flexible toothed rail both have an I-shaped cross section, each including a middle connecting plate and two side plates perpendicularly connected to both ends of the middle connecting plate, with one side plate fixed to the front or rear web plate and the other side plate having a toothed structure.

5. The flexible rack-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system of claim 1, wherein: The toothed track inspection robot includes a base plate, a drive box, a drive motor, a drive gear, a second rotating gimbal, a second rotating gimbal motor, a robotic arm, a swing arm motor, a battery pack, a wireless charging receiver module, and a wireless charging transmitter module. The drive box is located on top of the base plate. The drive motor is a self-locking drive motor, located inside the drive box and communicating with the control module, with its output shaft connected to the drive gear. The drive gear passes through the drive box and through the base plate to mesh with the flexible toothed track assembly, and is driven by the drive motor to move along the flexible toothed track assembly. The second rotating gimbal is mounted on top of the drive box. The second rotating gimbal motor is mounted inside the second rotating gimbal, and its output gear meshes with the internal gear ring of the second rotating gimbal. The bottom of the robotic arm is hinged to the top of the second rotating gimbal. Next, the second rotating gimbal motor drives the second rotating gimbal and drives the robotic arm to rotate; the swing arm motor is installed inside the second rotating gimbal, which is connected to the control module, and its output shaft is machined with a toothed structure; the end of the hinge shaft between the robotic arm and the second rotating gimbal is provided with a gear, which meshes with the toothed structure of the output shaft of the swing motor, and the swing arm motor drives the robotic arm to swing around the hinge shaft; the battery pack and the wireless charging receiver module are respectively installed on the top of the base plate, and the wireless charging transmitter module is installed on the side of the leading edge web or the trailing edge web near the blade root; the battery pack is used for power supply; after the toothed rail inspection robot completes the inspection, it automatically resets to the side of the leading edge web or the trailing edge web near the blade root, at which time the wireless charging receiver module can fit with the wireless charging transmitter module to realize wireless charging of the battery pack.

6. The flexible rack-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system of claim 5, wherein: The bottom of the substrate is movably mounted on the flexible gear assembly via at least one set of driven clamping roller assemblies; each set of driven clamping roller assemblies includes two driven clamping rollers, which are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the middle connecting plate of the first or second flexible gear. The bushing of the driven clamping roller has a built-in damping spring, which can automatically adjust the clamping force according to the curvature of each flexible gear, so as to avoid uneven force on a single driven clamping roller leading to meshing failure.

7. The flexible rack-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system of claim 1, wherein: The detection module integrates a video camera for taking pictures, an infrared thermal imager for automatically focusing and measuring the temperature of the blades, an ultrasonic flaw detector for detecting defects and damage in the blade's internal cavity, and a laser rangefinder for detecting the distance between the sampling position and the target location.

8. The flexible rack-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system of claim 2, wherein: Both the first flexible toothed rail and the second flexible toothed rail adopt an integral structure or a segmented hinged structure, with adjacent segments connected by elastic hinges.

9. The flexible rack-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system of claim 1, wherein: An auxiliary lighting module is provided on the first rotating gimbal. 10.A method for detecting a flexible rack-based wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot, characterized in that: The wind turbine blade internal cavity inspection robot detection system based on any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented, including the following steps: S1. Remotely send detection commands to the control module, which then controls the toothed rail inspection robot to move along the blade root towards the blade tip, while simultaneously detecting the trailing edge area of ​​the blade through the detection module. S2. Determine if there are defects or damage in the trailing edge area of ​​the blade: If there are defects or damage, control the toothed rail inspection robot to reduce its moving speed to 20%~30% of the original speed, and perform multiple sampling near the defective or damaged area through the detection module. If there are no defects or damage, the toothed rail inspection robot will automatically return to the designated position at the blade root after completing the inspection of the trailing edge area of ​​the blade. S3. The control module issues a track switching command, and switches the H-shaped flexible toothed rail to be aligned with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components by switching the track components to be aligned with the U-shaped flexible toothed rail components. Then, the toothed rail inspection robot is controlled to move along the U-shaped flexible toothed rail from the inner cavity of the trailing edge of the blade to the inner cavity of the leading edge of the blade. S4. The control module issues a track switching command again to switch the U-shaped flexible toothed rail and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components to an H-shaped flexible toothed rail and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components. Then, the toothed rail inspection robot is controlled to move along the blade root to the blade tip, and the detection module detects the leading edge area of ​​the blade. S5. Determine if there are defects or damage in the leading edge area of ​​the blade: If there are defects or damage, control the toothed rail inspection robot to reduce its moving speed to 20%~30% of the original speed, and perform multiple sampling near the defective or damaged area through the detection module. If there are no defects or damage, the toothed rail inspection robot will automatically return to the designated position at the blade root after completing the inspection of the leading edge area of ​​the blade. S6. The control module issues a track switching command, which switches the H-shaped flexible toothed rail to be aligned with the two sets of flexible toothed rail components by switching the track components to be aligned with the U-shaped flexible toothed rail components. Then, the toothed rail inspection robot is controlled to move along the U-shaped flexible toothed rail from the inner cavity of the leading edge of the blade to the inner cavity of the trailing edge of the blade, and then continues to move towards the blade root until the wireless charging transmitter module of the toothed rail inspection robot contacts the wireless charging receiver module, and starts the wireless charging of the toothed rail inspection robot. S7. The control module issues a track switching command again to switch the U-shaped flexible toothed rail and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components to an H-shaped flexible toothed rail and the two sets of flexible toothed rail components. The charging ends after the toothed rail inspection robot is fully charged. During the charging process, the inspection record is sorted out and the test results are fed back to the remote terminal via wireless transmission. S8. After charging is complete, control the geared rail inspection robot to enter standby mode and wait for the next work instruction.

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