Blades Europe - Agenda 2023


This year's event promises an exceptional lineup of industry thought leaders and technical experts who will share their insights and experiences. By attending, you will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the wind power sector, as well as the tools and strategies needed to overcome them. Join us to discover the latest breakthroughs in blade design, learn about emerging technologies, and explore the possibilities that lie ahead.

Agenda day one


08:00

Agenda day one

Registration and welcome networking

09:00
Chair’s opening remarks

09:10

SMART WIND

Operator case study

09:40
Data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence applications for wind turbine blades

AI exists as an umbrella term that is used to denote all computer programs that can think as humans do. This presentation will describe the taxonomy of AI and the information needed to apply different methodologies and will lay out the problems and limitations for its deployment.  We will discuss some of the major challenges and concerns regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the wind industry.  Applications that use AI like wind forecasting, blade inspection, and maintenance planning will be discussed. Finally, we will discuss what the future of monitoring wind turbine blades may hold, the role of analytics to support decision making, and what is needed for AI to support maintenance planning.


10:00
Validated, operational and engineer-friendly digital twin technologies of rotor blades for predictive maintenance

Delegates will learn the latest Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) developed and demonstrated at DTU Wind for identifying, tracking, and evaluating blade damage in near real time. The blade damage is detected and identified with passive thermography automatically when the blade is in normal operation. Computer-version based techniques are used to map the physically detected blade damage onto the blade model for accurate simulation. A fracture-mechanics approach is embedded in a surrogate model to speed up the crack propagation prediction under cyclic loads. All KETs can work independently as well as in collaboration to achieve engineer-friendly Digital Twin of rotor blades for predictive maintenance. The delegates will also learn the demonstration of these KETs applied to the real world

10:30
Networking break sponsored by Clobotics

11:15

INNOVATION

Innovation Spotlight

In just 1 hour you will hear from several leading innovators in the blade space to make sure you are up to date with the latest solutions and know what to look out for in the future. After several lightning-fast presentations you will get the chance to put your questions to the experts. 

Confirmed innovators:

Bladena
Thread.ONE
LM Windpower

12:15
Networking lunch

13:30

INSPECTIONS AND INTERVENTIONS

PANEL: Building inspection strategies that inform proactive repairs and extend the life of the blade

Ensuring that you are on top of your turbine performance is key to intervening before a full-scale shut-down. What are the most innovative ways to do this? Delve into novel approaches to blade inspection, maintenance, and repair, including automation, drone-based inspections, and predictive maintenance algorithms.

14:15
CASE STUDY: Thermography: subsurface inspections of wind turbine blades for better maintenance planning

With the increasing blade length within both onshore and offshore wind there is a growing need for improved automated inspection methods of wind turbine blades. The cost of blade repair is increasing and the repair window decreasing for offshore turbines. Equally the damage progression rate and severity of wear and tear seen on longer blades suggest that the blade OPEX budget will be increasing radically in the coming years.

The standard external drone inspections used today, give a limited and static view of the external damages of the blade. What is needed is an in-depth understanding on how damages are evolving within the blade, i.e. sub surface and internal.

Statkraft has done in-situ test of IR imaging, i.e. thermographic inspection on several of our wind sites. Following a three-pronged research strategy we have 1. Tested passive vs. active thermography 2. External, internal vs. thermal thermography 3. Internal inspection with crawler. In addition, we are invited to be partner in the EUDP funded AQUADA-GO project, which are developing an AI for thermographic inspections of wind turbine blades. We will present the above results for improving blade maintenance.

14:45
Networking break sponsored by Clobotics

15:30
Tackling offshore blade inspection challenges

  • Explore the complexities of using industrial-grade drones for offshore blade inspections
  • Delve into the transformative potential of conducting one-stop inspections led by off-the-shelf drones
  • Discover real-life case studies highlighting the effectiveness of NearthWIND Mobile

16:00
CASE STUDY: Blade database and management application

The PGE Capital Group is Poland’s largest energy sector company. In PGE Energia Odnawialna we have 342 wind turbines operating. PGE is the owner, and the operator, and carries on the maintenance. As we started repairing blades with the dedicated in-house teams the need for a dedicated solution supporting the operations appeared. The solution was required to collect historical data about the damages, and the progress in repairs and to help the technicians report the progress in real time. 

 Together with PGE Systemy we agreed that the best application would be one that we would create together. The result of more than one year of cooperation has already been in use but is still growing, and the new functionalities will appear soon. This case study reveals the main features of the application and how its implementation has improved inspections and repairs in our fleet.

16:30
Crack growth risk: Using historical data and probability analysis to quantify the risk to asset health

In this presentation, Tomasz Sieradzan, Principal Blade Engineer at SkySpecs, discusses the use of probabilistic analysis to quantify crack forming and progression rates, and how these insights can be leveraged, so that owner operators can mitigate operational risk and optimise blade related maintenance activities.

16:50
Chair’s closing remarks and close of day one

17:00
Networking drinks reception sponsored by SkySpecs

Take some time at the end of day one to digest what you have heard and get to know your peers in an informal setting.

Agenda day two


08:00

Agenda day two

Welcome networking

09:00
Chair’s opening remarks

09:10

PROTECTING AGAINST ADVERSE WEATHER

Offshore case study

09:40
Icephobic coatings: changing the conversation from ice removal to ice mitigation

Icing events and their related auto shutdowns can be devastating to the power output and revenue of wind farms. Operators need to ensure that their turbines are reliable year-round, but how can this be accomplished short of costly ice removal methods? Enter icephobic coatings. Discover the benefits and hard data behind this innovative solution to the challenges winter poses to windfarms around the world.

10:00
Advances in lightning protection

Exploring lightning strike detection and protection systems for blades, including advanced grounding techniques, surge protection devices, and lightning detection algorithms

10:30
Networking break sponsored by Clobotics

11:45
Bigger blades, bigger problems?

How will scaling blade size for multi-megawatt turbines impact on your ability to get the best AEP? What innovations are needed in the design, installation and transport of larger blades? How can you ensure blade lifetime longevity? In what ways will you need to adjust your inspection and repair strategies?

12:15
Designing eco-blades to increase life expectancy

Investigating the use of new materials, such as carbon fibre composites and bio-based polymers, to enhance blade performance and durability.

12:45
Networking lunch

14:00

ROUNDTABLES

Roundtable discussions

Networking and content in one package! Take this opportunity to delve into the topics that most impact your day-to-day work and really get to grips with solutions to your challenges. Small group discussions with an expert facilitator; choose your topic and get talking!


Confirmed discussions: 

Standardization of inspection metadata and damage categorization 

Mert Tekeli, Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Expert, Eneco

15:15

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

PANEL: What does design for circularity look like for blades?

With blades being the least green part of a wind turbine, how could circularity be achieved in the future? Are new materials the answer? If so, where are we with that research? Is recycling technology for waste management of traditional blades feasible? How would the LCoE be impacted by measures to make blades circular?

16:00
Closing keynote

16:30
Chair’s closing remarks and close of Conference