TY - GEN A1 - Chaudhuri, Somsubhro A1 - Stamm, Michael T1 - Infrared thermography of turbulence patterns of operational wind turbine rotor blades supported with high-resolution photography: KI-VISIR Dataset N2 - With increasing wind energy capacity and installation of wind turbines, new inspection techniques are being explored to examine wind turbine rotor blades, especially during operation. A common result of surface damage phenomena (such as leading-edge erosion) is the premature transition of laminar to turbulent flow on the surface of rotor blades. In the KI-VISIR (Künstliche Intelligenz Visuell und Infrarot Thermografie – Artificial Intelligence-Visual and Infrared Thermography) project, infrared thermography is used as an inspection tool to capture so-called thermal turbulence patterns (TTP) that result from such surface contamination or damage. To compliment the thermographic inspections, high-resolution photography is performed to visualise, in detail, the sites where these turbulence patterns initiate. A convolutional neural network (CNN) was developed and used to detect and localise the turbulence patterns. A unique dataset combining the thermograms and visual images of operational wind turbine rotor blades has been provided, along with the simplified annotations for the turbulence patterns. Additional tools are available to allow users to use the data requiring only basic Python programming skills. KW - Reference Data KW - Infrared Thermography KW - Wind energy KW - Dataset PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13771899 PB - Zenodo CY - Geneva AN - OPUS4-61102 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chaudhuri, Somsubhro A1 - Stamm, Michael A1 - Lapšanská, Ivana A1 - Lançon, Thibault A1 - Osterbrink, Lars A1 - Driebe, Thomas A1 - Hein, Daniel A1 - Harendt, René T1 - Infrared Thermography of Turbulence Patterns of Operational Wind Turbine Rotor Blades Supported With High‐Resolution Photography: KI‐VISIR Dataset N2 - With increasing wind energy capacity and installation of wind turbines, new inspection techniques are being explored to examine wind turbine rotor blades, especially during operation. A common result of surface damage phenomena (such as leading edge erosion) is the premature transition of laminar to turbulent flow on the surface of rotor blades. In the KI-VISIR (Künstliche Intelligenz Visuell und Infrarot Thermografie—Artificial Intelligence-Visual and Infrared Thermography) project, infrared thermography is used as an inspection tool to capture so-called thermal turbulence patterns (TTPs) that result from such surface contamination or damage. To complement the thermographic inspections, high-resolution photography is performed to visualise, in detail, the sites where these turbulence patterns initiate. A convolutional neural network (CNN) was developed and used to detect and localise turbulence patterns. A unique dataset combining the thermograms and visual images of operational wind turbine rotor blades has been provided, along with the simplified annotations for the turbulence patterns. Additional tools are available to allow users to use the data requiring only basic Python programming skills. KW - Thermography KW - Thermografie KW - Wind energy KW - Leading edge erosion KW - KI PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-615772 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/we.2958 IS - e2958 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-61577 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Chaudhuri, Somsubhro A1 - Junker, Birgit T1 - Infrared thermography as an inspection tool for wind turbine rotor blades N2 - With the rapid expansion of wind turbine construction, rotor blades have increasingly been identified as a primary cause of turbine downtime and failure. This has led to a growing demand for inspection technologies through which energy production losses can be minimised—particularly in comparison to conventional methods such as rope-access inspections—and through which sub-surface blade conditions can be assessed to detect damage or failure in advance. Infrared thermography has been considered as a promising non-contact, full-field inspection method that can be applied to rotor blades in both operational and idle states. In this presentation, delivered at BladesEurope 2025, the physical mechanisms that give rise to thermal contrast during thermographic inspection were explained, as this contrast enables the detection and visualisation of structural features. Results obtained from a collaborative project between BAM and Statkraft Norway were presented, followed by the validation of a finite element simulation through experiments conducted in a climate chamber.” T2 - BladesEurope Forum 2025 CY - Edinburgh, Scotland DA - 29.04.2025 KW - Thermography KW - Wind energy KW - Inspection KW - Windenergie anlage rotorblätte KW - Damage detection PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63060 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Chaudhuri, Somsubhro A1 - Krankenhagen, Rainer A1 - Lapšanská, Ivana A1 - Stamm, Michael T1 - WTB-IRT: Modelling and Measurement of Thermal Contrast in Wind Turbine Rotor Blades (WTBs) N2 - The rapid growth of wind energy infrastructure over the past two to three decades has led to an urgent need for advanced non-destructive testing (NDT) methods—both for newly installed wind turbine blades (WTBs) and for ageing components nearing the end of their service life. Among emerging techniques, passive infrared thermography (IRT) offers a promising solution by enabling contactless, time-efficient inspection based on naturally occurring thermal variations. The effectiveness of passive IRT depends on the presence of sufficient thermal contrast to distinguish surface features, subsurface structures, and defects. To better understand the possibility of obtaining such contrast in composite structures such as WTBs, a controlled study was carried out on a blade section exposed to programmed temperature transients in a climate chamber. Infrared measurements were recorded, and the thermal behaviour of the specimen was simulated using finite element models (FEM) in COMSOL Multiphysics 6.3. Although direct validation is limited by measurement uncertainties and transient effects, the comparison provides insight into the capabilities and limitations of FEM in replicating real-world thermal behaviour. This paper focuses specifically on the challenges related to the modelling approach. T2 - 18th International Workshop on Advanced Infrared Technology and Applications (AITA 2025) CY - Kobe, Japan DA - 15.09.2025 KW - Thermography KW - Wind energy KW - Wind turbine rotor blades KW - Windenergie Anlage Rotorblätter KW - FEA PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-642308 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2025129015 VL - 129 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-64230 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Chaudhuri, Somsubhro T1 - EvalTherm: Evaluation of passive thermography for the inspection of operational wind turbine rotor blades N2 - Wind turbine rotor blades (WTBs) have undergone numerous developments related to their design, manufacturing, and material selection. The drive for cost efficiency has resulted in increasingly longer WTBs over the past two decades [1]. Despite advancements in wind turbine technology, WTB inspection methods have seen little change over the years. While drones are increasingly used, inspections still rely primarily on visual assessments. However, critical structural damage - often originating from manufacturing defects - typically begins within the composite blade structure. With the increase in wind turbine blade (WTB) sizes, now exceeding lengths of 120 meters, passive infrared thermography (IRT) has been explored as an alternative inspection method when thermal or optical excitation is impractical [2]. Despite its advantages, employing IRT in wind industry presents significant challenges due to inherent uncertainties related to material properties, environmental conditions, and calibration factors [3]. The effects of these conditions can be analysed through finite element (FE) modelling, albeit with certain limitations [4, 5]. This work is part of the multi-partner project “EvalTherm,” which aims to evaluate passive IRT as a non-destructive inspection tool for WTBs in operation (schematic of the project is shown in Figure 1:). One parameter that can be used to investigate its effectiveness is thermal contrast, which allows two distinct features to be distinguished in thermal data. Selected results from the project “EvalTherm” are discussed and shown in the presentation. They are primarily categorised into inspections done under controlled conditions: i.e. in laboratory (with active excitation in the form of irradiation) and a climate chamber (with a temperature transient introduced with airflow). Results from these trials help understand the combined effect that are observed in outside measurements, with exposure to the sun and diurnal temperature changes. The presentation will include results obtained from field inspections on operational WTBs. T2 - Wind Energy Science Conference (WESC) 2025 CY - Nantes, France DA - 24.06.2025 KW - Thermography KW - Wind energy KW - Wind turbine rotor blades KW - Windenergie Anlage Rotorblätter KW - Damage detection PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63558 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -