Development of Manipulator for

Cleaning Wind Turbine Blades

By
B SAI KISHORE REDDY (UR13ME148)
J SAM JACOB (UR13ME151)

Under the guidance of

MR. AJAY VASANTH
Objective
To improve the performance of wind
turbine by removing the debris
deposited over wind turbine blades
using manipulator in order to avoid the
employment of humans to work in
dangerous heights.
Introduction
According to an IEA estimate, we humans
produced and used 5.67 1020 joules of
energy in 2013, equivalent to about 18.0
terawatts.
According to the Renewables Global
Status Report (GSR) from REN21, roughly
a fifth of the worlds electrical power
production now comes from renewable
source.
Worldwide there are now over two
hundred thousand wind turbines
operating, with a total nameplate
capacity of 432 GW as of end 2015.
Debris
Debris build up on the blades of
the wind turbines, produced by
insects, dust, etc.
Machinery and gears located on
the wind turbine nacelle usually
produce frequent losses of oil
and grease, which slide down
the tower.
Effects of Debris
Debris build up on the turbine blades results in a decrease in the
energy generation.
The maximum loss of energy production due to debris is nearly 15%.
Debris will damage the blade material.
And also there will be the effect on drag and lift of wind turbine blade.
So blade cleaning is necessary once in every three months for good
performance of wind turbine.
Manual Cleaning
Nowadays wind power blades are cleaned
by people using ropes and a small water
jet.
This operation is dangerous and
inefficient and time consuming.
In some countries they use helicopters to
clean he wind turbine blades.
Tower climbing remains the most
dangerous job in America, according to
the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA). Fatalities for all
types of tower work per 100,000 workers
in 2006 were 184, compared to 88 for
pilots, 37 for farmers, 35 for utility-line
workers, and 34 for roofers.
Design of Robot
Simulation
Structural Analysis

Total Deformation Factor of Safety

Structural Analysis

Equivalent Stress Equivalent Strain

FABRICATION
Fabrication of manipulator has four stages namely, making of

Frame
X-Carriage Mechanism (Linear Sliding)
Nozzle Angular Movement
Rope Climbing Mechanism
FRAME
The outer body i.e., frame of the
manipulator is made using L angles
made of cast iron.
Four L angles were fitted to form
the shape of a rectangle.
This total frame setup weighs
about 3.5kg.
L angle of standard dimension was
used i.e., 35*35*3mm.
The length of each L angle is 50cm.
X CARRIAGE MECAHNISM
The X-Carriage mechanism i.e., linear
sliding mechanism where the nozzle is
fixed and is moved left and right.
It is called as X-Carriage mechanism
since the movement will be only in
one axis i.e., x-axis direction.
The X-Carriage mechanism consists of
pulleys, synchronizer belts, aluminium
heads, motors and highly polished
shafts with grooves at the ends where
circlips can be fixed to hold it in place.
Nozzle Angular Movement
Nozzle is used to provide
pressurized water flow with
abrasives on the wind turbine
blades to clean the debris.
Nozzle is fixed between the two
aluminium heads with the two
motors fixed to it for the angular
movement.
The standard pressure of the
water applied in manual
cleaning is around 3500psi.
Rope Climbing Mechanism
Rope climbing mechanism is used
to lift the body up.
The mechanism used here is lifting
the body using a pair of
rollers(gears) at either ends which
acts as pulleys. Rope is passed
between the gears to create
upward/downward motion.
High torque servo motors provide
the required power for lifting the
robot.
Automation
Manual control is inefficient and time consuming as controlled the
maximum cleaning possible is limited to the reaction time of the
person controlling the robot.
Manual control will be done with visual judgement which can again
be inefficient.
As the geometry of the wind turbine blades will be known we can
create predefined motion paths for the manipulator for a specific
blade and the cleaning process can be made automatic.
Automation Mechanism
The manipulator has 3 degrees of freedom so the relative movement
can be defined in sets 5 values.
Three values denote the relative position and the remaining two
values determine the speed of the manipulator.
Format :
[Distance of movement in Y-Axis, Distance of X-Carriage movement,
Speed of X-Carriage movement, Degrees of rotation of nozzle, Speed of
rotation of nozzle]
Example
[20, 15, 20, 10, 50]

The speed of rotation of the nozzle is 10 degrees/minute

A total rotation of 10 degrees (values can be negative)

The X-Carriage is moved with a speed of 20 mm/minute

A total movement of 15 mm (values can be negative)

A total climb of 20 mm
Flow Chart
Future Work and Design Suggestions
We can use 4 rods instead of 2 rods as guide ways for the X-Carriage
Mechanism to prevent sagging of the Nozzle angular movement
mechanism.
To use Ultra Sonic Sensors to detect if blade is present in front of the
nozzle.
Using Image processing we can make to robot to automatically clean
only the areas of the blade where there is debris.
Make gripper mechanism to counter reaction force from nozzle.
THANK YOU
Hazards while climbing wind turbine using
ropes
Home-scale wind generator towers pose a variety of hazards. First and foremost is the fall hazard (all other
hazards are compounded by the fact that youre working well above the ground). Properly sited and installed
wind generators are on towers from 60 to 200 feet high (or more). Not only is there the danger of falling but
also the risk of injuring others or damaging equipment by dropping tools or parts.
Gravity-caused accidents are only one of the many hazards faced by tower climbers. Since wind turbines can
produce high-voltage electricity, and the systems can be connected to the utility grid, there is also the risk of
shock and electrocution. Turbines are rotating machines, and the grisly fact is that utility-scale wind service
people have been killed by being dragged into the equipment.
Weather is another frequent hazard. Climbing in rainy or icy conditions or during extremely cold or hot
temperatures increases the danger, often to the point of being unsafe. The greatest danger lies in the
unexpecteda lighting storm or wind-driven rain that sneaks up on you. When it comes to weather,
common sense is your best defense. Beginning climbers routinely underestimate how much more severe the
wind will be when they climb above nearby obstructions, and often find themselves unprepared and
underdressed for the higher winds and colder temperatures aloft. When in doubt, err on the side of caution.
Other hazards stem from live distractions, such as bees and hornets, animals on the ground, and other
climbers. Noise from nearby equipment can be hazardous as well, primarily because it impairs
communication. A smart climber assesses the potential hazards before climbing and prepares for them.
Discussing the hazards with your climbing partners and ground crew can help minimize the risk.