Wind Turbine Blade Inspection Intelligence
Evaluates blade condition from drone or ground-based visual inspection and produces a structured damage assessment across seven failure modes.
When to Use
Load this skill when the user wants to:
- Assess blade health from drone inspection images or written findings
- Classify damage type and severity on a 1-5 scale per blade and per zone
- Determine whether a turbine should continue operating, be scheduled for repair, or shut down
- Generate a structured blade inspection report with repair recommendations
Blade Zones
| Zone | Span | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Root | 0-33% | Highest structural loads, bolted connection area |
| Mid | 33-66% | Transition zone, moderate aerodynamic load |
| Tip | 66-100% | Highest velocity, most erosion-prone, lightning receptor area |
Surfaces: Leading Edge (LE), Trailing Edge (TE), Suction Side (SS), Pressure Side (PS)
Damage Type Definitions
| Damage Type | Description | Typical Location |
|---|---|---|
| Surface crack | Gelcoat or laminate cracks, linear fractures | LE, TE, root transition |
| Erosion / wear | Material loss, pitting, roughening | LE tip zone |
| Lightning damage | Burn marks, punctures, receptor damage | Tip, receptor area |
| Lamination/structural | Delamination, fiber exposure, buckling, dents | Any zone |
| Debonding | Bond line separation at LE, TE, or shear web | LE, TE, internal |
| Ice accumulation | Ice buildup on surface or edges | Any zone |
| General visual anomaly | Discoloration, contamination, coating loss | Any zone |
Severity Scale
| Severity | Label | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Healthy | No damage or cosmetic marks only | Continue normal operation |
| 2 | Minor | Early erosion, superficial cracks, coating loss | Increase inspection frequency |
| 3 | Moderate | Gelcoat breach, early debonding, defined damage | Repair within 1-3 months |
| 4 | Significant | Structural involvement, active debonding, lightning | Repair within 2-4 weeks |
| 5 | Critical | Fiber exposure, structural breach, delamination | Immediate shutdown required |
Procedure
- Collect inputs: blade IDs, inspection method, findings per blade per zone per surface.
- Classify each finding by damage type.
- Assign severity per finding using the severity scale.
- Determine overall blade severity as the highest finding for that blade.
- Determine turbine-level severity as the highest across all blades.
- Apply damage-specific rules:
- Lightning damage: minimum Severity 4 until OEM confirms otherwise.
- Debonding at LE or TE over 300 mm: escalate to Severity 4.
- Any confirmed fiber exposure: minimum Severity 4.
- Erosion with full gelcoat loss over 500 mm span at tip: Severity 4.
- Active ice accumulation: always Severity 4.
- Generate output report using the format below.
Output Format
=== BLADE INSPECTION REPORT ===
ASSET : [Turbine ID] SITE : [Site name] INSPECTION : [Date / Method] BLADES : [Number inspected]
BLADE [ID]: Zone/Surface : [e.g., Tip / Leading Edge] Damage Type : [e.g., Erosion] Description : [e.g., Deep pitting ~600 mm span, gelcoat fully lost] Severity : [1-5] - [Label]
BLADE [ID] OVERALL SEVERITY: [1-5] - [Label]
TURBINE-LEVEL SEVERITY : [1-5] - [Label] SHUTDOWN RECOMMENDATION: [Yes / No / Conditional]
REPAIR PRIORITY:
- [e.g., Blade 2 tip LE erosion - schedule LEP repair within 6 weeks]
MONITORING STRATEGY:
- [e.g., Monthly drone re-inspection for all blades]
ESCALATION TRIGGERS:
- [e.g., Debond length exceeds 500 mm - shutdown for repair]
- [e.g., SCADA vibration or imbalance alarms - ground turbine]
Damage-Specific Guidance
Erosion: Progresses from roughening to pitting to gelcoat loss to fiber exposure. Repair with Leading Edge Protection (LEP) tape or coating. Severity 3-4 causes measurable energy production loss.
Lightning: Always notify OEM. Minor visible damage may hide internal delamination. Do not assume safe to operate until specialist confirms.
Debonding: LE debonding causes aerodynamic noise and vibration. TE debonding starts at tip and progresses toward root. Bond line gap over 300 mm is Severity 4.
Lamination/Structural: Fiber exposure is always Severity 4 minimum. Dents or buckling without fiber exposure is Severity 3.
Ice: Active ice requires immediate grounding due to rotor imbalance and ice throw risk. After melting, inspect surface for underlying damage.
Pitfalls
- Do not classify erosion from low-resolution images. Ask for close-up zone-specific photos.
- Lightning damage is always higher priority than it looks. Treat as Severity 4 until proven otherwise.
- Debonding can be invisible from drone imagery. If SCADA shows imbalance alarms, flag potential hidden debonding.
- Active ice is a safety hazard. Recommend immediate grounding.
- Assess each blade independently. Damage distribution is rarely uniform across all three blades.
Verification
After generating the report, confirm with the user:
- Does the severity match the inspector's on-site assessment?
- Are all three blades accounted for?
- Are there SCADA alarms (vibration, imbalance, power curve deviation) correlating with findings?
- Is there a previous inspection report for trend comparison?