An apparatus for inspecting an adhesive layer applied about the leading edge of a wind turbine rotor blade is provided, which apparatus includes a heating assembly configured to direct heat at a portion of the adhesive layer between the outer edges of the adhesive layer; an infrared imaging means arranged to obtain an infrared image of a heated portion; and a displacement means adapted to move the inspection apparatus alongside the rotor blade during operation of the heating assembly and the infrared imaging means to facilitate infrared imaging of the adhesive layer.

The invention provides a method of identifying recurrent free-flow wind disturbances associated with a wind turbine. The method comprises monitoring a signal indicative of a parameter associated with operation of the wind turbine, determining an expected signal of the parameter based on the monitored signal, determining a difference between values of the monitored signal and the determined expected signal, and correlating the determined differences with yaw position of a nacelle of the wind turbine. The method includes determining, based on the correlated differences, unexpected values of the parameter for different yaw positions, and identifying, based on a frequency of occurrence of the determined unexpected values, a recurrent free-flow wind disturbance associated with a yaw position of the nacelle.

The invention describes a method of controlling a wind turbine (2), which method comprises steps of measuring one or more climate parameters (.sub.t, T.sub.air, T.sub.surface) in an interior (2.sub.int) of the wind turbine (2); estimating, on the basis of the climate parameters (.sub.t, T.sub.air, T.sub.surface), the electrical resistance (RW.sub.t) of an insulating material (210M) deployed in an electrical component (21) of the wind turbine (2); and evaluating the need for a dry-out procedure on the basis of the estimated resistance (RW.sub.t). The invention further describes a wind turbine (2) with a monitoring arrangement (1) configured to perform the inventive method.

A method for monitoring damage of a slewing ring bearing of a wind turbine includes arranging at least one optical fiber sensor adjacent to or at least partially on at least one of an inner race or an outer race of the slewing ring bearing. Further, the method includes receiving, via a controller, signals from the at least one optical fiber sensor indicative of one or more changes associated with the slewing ring bearing. The method also includes comparing, via the controller, the one or more changes associated with the slewing ring bearing to a damage threshold. Moreover, the method includes implementing, via the controller, a control action when the one or more changes exceeds the damage threshold to prevent or minimize further damage from occurring to the slewing ring bearing.

A wind turbine monitoring device for monitoring a wind turbine including a lightning sensor for detecting a lightning strike on a wind turbine blade includes a lightning parameter acquisition part configured to acquire at least one lightning parameter based on an output of the lightning sensor, a lightning level determination part configured to determine a level of the lightning strike based on the at least one lightning parameter acquired by the lightning parameter acquisition part; and an inspection control part configured to judge whether it is necessary to automatically inspect the wind turbine blade by at least one inspection unit for inspecting the wind turbine blade, according the level of the lightning strike determined by the lightning level determination part.

The invention provides a method of identifying recurrent free-flow wind disturbances associated with a wind turbine. The method comprises monitoring a signal indicative of a parameter associated with operation of the wind turbine, determining an expected signal of the parameter based on the monitored signal, determining a difference between values of the monitored signal and the determined expected signal, and correlating the determined differences with yaw position of a nacelle of the wind turbine. The method includes determining, based on the correlated differences, unexpected values of the parameter for different yaw positions, and identifying, based on a frequency of occurrence of the determined unexpected values, a recurrent free-flow wind disturbance associated with a yaw position of the nacelle.

The disclosure relates to a wind turbine blade inspection system and method based on an unmanned aerial vehicle. The system includes: a collection module, used for collecting blade data and surrounding environment data of blades to be inspected, determining feature inspection points of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the blade data and the surrounding environment data, and generating inspection paths; an inspection module, used for shooting corresponding blade at the feature inspection points according to the inspection paths to obtain a first inspection image and a second inspection image; an analysis module, used for receiving the first inspection image and the second inspection image, analyzing the first inspection image and the second inspection image to obtain a health state of the corresponding blade, and making a maintenance plan according to the health state of each of the blades.

The disclosure relates to a wind turbine blade inspection system and method based on an unmanned aerial vehicle. The system includes: a collection module, used for collecting blade data and surrounding environment data of blades to be inspected, determining feature inspection points of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the blade data and the surrounding environment data, and generating inspection paths; an inspection module, used for shooting corresponding blade at the feature inspection points according to the inspection paths to obtain a first inspection image and a second inspection image; an analysis module, used for receiving the first inspection image and the second inspection image, analyzing the first inspection image and the second inspection image to obtain a health state of the corresponding blade, and making a maintenance plan according to the health state of each of the blades.

The invention relates to a method for monitoring yawing fault events of a yaw system of a wind turbine. The yaw system comprises one or more actuators for driving the yaw system and a holding system to resist yaw rotation. The yaw system is arranged to provide yaw rotation in response to a yaw control signal. According to the method, the monitored yaw angle is compared with the yaw control signal, and based on the comparison, a correlation between a monitored change in the yaw angle and the yaw control signal is determined. A yawing fault event is determined dependent on the determined correlation.

A detection unit acquires detection data of a wind turbine generator. A controller generates maintenance information of the wind turbine generator based on the detection data. The controller transmits maintenance information to a maintenance terminal.