iFROG: Amphibious robot for inspection and predictive maintenance of offshore wind assets
Background
UK and EU governments have committed to ensuring 20% of total energy consumption is sourced from renewables by 2020. Diminishing fossil fuel resources and adverse environmental impacts. 18% global electricity expected from wind energy by 2050; driven by diminishing fossil fuels and governments’ decarbonisation targets. Offshore wind is increasingly preferred due to better wind condition and agricultural land use conflict.
Offshore wind foundation needs enhanced inspection/maintenance technologies to ensure the installations remain operational over their full working lives. The inspection/ maintenance constitutes ~65% total operation & maintenance costs, with >50% of this due to scheduled hazardous diver-based visual inspections or corrective inspection/maintenance. Reducing operation and maintenance costs remains a key priority for offshore wind industry.
The project iFROG combines enabling capabilities in electronics/sensors/photonics and robotics to deliver innovative marinised autonomous robot for inspection and predictive maintenance of offshore wind turbine foundations both above and below the water line.
Objectives
Amphibious Robotic System (iFROG) will employ magnetic adhesion to navigate difficult to access ferrous surfaces; performing non-destructive testing (NDT) via marinised phase array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) and using NDT data and material properties/history/degradation pathways to derive optimal maintenance strategies.
A risk based approach will be used to develop a team of robots able to carry out the detailed tasks of inspection and preventive maintenance, by using autonomous features to allow adhesion, navigation and deployment of non-destructive testing via Phase Array Ultrasonic Testing, for the offshore wind turbine foundation both above and below the waterline (down to 60m water depth).
The system will combine the technology of Risk-based Inspection (RBI), Predictive Maintenance (PM), Total Quality Inspection (TQI), Fitness for service (FFS) and Optimum Repair Technologies (ORT).
The project will develop:
- PAUT NDT hardware and platform system
- PAUT signal processing and image processing software, testing unit, interface, and configuration system
- Robotic Platform and cleaning gear. Procure parts for multi-robot system. Assemble robot system. Database implementation.
- Functional testing, Conduct testing, Test units, end user application and quality assurance
- Testing above waterline. Assess performance using OREC's 27m training tower and modifications needed to improve performance
- Testing below waterline. Assess performance using TUC’s 35-100m test site and modifications needed to improve performance
Benefits
The iFROG project aim to deliver appropriate maintenance strategies to ensure continued power operation and improving overall system competitiveness. It is estimated that iFROG will save £150k p.a. per foundation and generate £40.2M revenue in 5 years, creating 28:1 return on investment and >200 new consortium jobs - improving partners' competitiveness. This will improve the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of offshore wind; encouraging future investment and benefiting energy security and the environment.
Project Partners
- InnoTec UK
- TWI Ltd
- The Underwater Centre
- Brunel University London
Professor Tat-Hean Gan - Professional Qualifications CEng. IntPE (UK), Eur Ing BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronics Engg (Uni of Nottingham) MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering (University of Warwick) MBA in International Business (University of Birmingham) PhD in Engineering (University of Warwick) Languages English, Malaysian, Mandarin, Cantonese Professional Bodies Fellow of the British Institute of NDT Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology Tat-Hean Gan has 10 years of experience in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and Condition Monitoring of rotating machineries in various industries namely nuclear, renewable energy (eg Wind, Wave ad Tidal), Oil and Gas, Petrochemical, Construction and Infrastructure, Aerospace and Automotive. He is the Director of BIC, leading activities varying from Research and development to commercialisation in the areas of novel technique development, sensor applications, signal and image processing, numerical modelling and electronics hardware. His experience is also in Collaborative funding (EC FP7 and UK TSB), project management and technology commercialisation.