DRONE (UAS)
🟠 AIR PROVENCE skills sponsorship for Sea Rescuers
AIR PROVENCE – Drone services in France & Export The SNSM is a French charity dedicated to maritime rescue. Recognized as being of public utility,
23 November 2024
AIR PROVENCE is a drone operator with the French Directorate General of Civil Aviation (UE EASA) and its manager Augustin Navarranne is a professional remote pilot.
Thanks to an exclusive partner, we are able to offer you various services for the management of your wind turbine installations.
Drones are increasingly being used for visual inspection of wind turbines. They can be equipped with high-resolution cameras that capture detailed images of the wind turbine from different angles. Drones can be flown around the turbine to inspect blades, nacelles, towers and other components. The images and videos captured by drones can be analyzed later to detect damage or anomalies. The use of drones allows for faster, safer and more accurate inspections, reducing the need to climb onto wind turbines.
The inspection method may vary depending on the wind turbine models, but is generally valid for all common models.
Offshore wind turbines are increasing in France for the following reasons:
Despite specific technical and environmental challenges, France continues to invest in the development of offshore wind because of its potential benefits as a renewable energy source.
Former pilot of scientific underwater robots (ROV) capable of diving up to 6,000 meters of immersion, Augustin Navarranne’s training at AIR PROVENCE was rigorous, focused on the safety of handling and requiring a capacity for projection, organization and precision piloting.
Trained by IFREMER and GENAVIR experts in piloting machines, MCO, launching and recovering ROVs with the different crews, AIR PROVENCE has solid experience in operations at sea. Our missions were often for scientific purposes: underwater volcanic geology, underwater biology but also technical missions such as the recovery of mobile debris for the DGA, recovery of moorings for example.
On-call number:
If the phone is not answered, it means the teams are in flight or unavailable.
AIR PROVENCE – Drone services in France & Export The SNSM is a French charity dedicated to maritime rescue. Recognized as being of public utility,
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France has significant wind potential, mainly located on its coasts, in the plains and on the heights. The French wind industry is booming, with many onshore and offshore wind farms in operation. These farms play a crucial role in the country’s electricity production and contribute to its energy transition goals.
Wind turbine maintenance is a key aspect of this industry. Specialized companies ensure regular monitoring, repair and replacement of faulty components to ensure the proper functioning of wind farms.
To ensure the quality and safety of installations, the wind industry is subject to strict standards and regulations, both national and European. These standards cover the design, construction and operation of wind turbines, and aim to minimize environmental and safety risks.
The wind industry also generates a significant number of jobs in France, ranging from specialized engineers and technicians to construction workers and logistics professionals. This helps to boost the local and regional economy.
Regarding worker safety, although there are risks of workplace accidents, the industry implements strict measures to minimize them. This includes specific training, rigorous safety protocols and constant monitoring of working conditions on wind farm sites.
Wind turbine maintenance, a necessity for sustainable energy production
Wind turbines, on the front line facing bad weather and external aggressions, require rigorous maintenance to ensure their proper functioning and long-term durability. Among the critical elements of these installations, the blades occupy a central place. Indeed, their structural condition has a direct impact on the performance and safety of the entire wind turbine.
Inspection and diagnosis of blades: a methodical approach
To ensure the reliability of wind turbine blades, a series of inspection and diagnostic operations are implemented:
Regular visual inspection: Qualified technicians carry out careful visual inspections of the blades, looking for visible signs of deterioration such as cracks, chips, deformations or traces of corrosion.
In-depth structural inspection: Beyond the visual examination, more advanced structural inspection techniques are used to assess the condition of the blades in depth. This may include using drones equipped with high-resolution cameras to explore hard-to-reach areas, or using ultrasound or X-ray technologies to analyze the internal integrity of the blades.
Accurate fault diagnosis: Once the inspections have been carried out, in-depth analyses of the data collected allow for an accurate diagnosis of the nature and extent of any defects detected. This crucial step involves the expertise of specialized engineers capable of interpreting the results of the inspections and determining the severity of the anomalies found.
Repair and corrective maintenance: remedying failures
Depending on the conclusions of the diagnosis, appropriate corrective measures are implemented to repair the defects identified on the blades.
Minor repairs: For minor damage, such as micro-cracks or superficial chips, one-off repairs can be carried out, such as sealing the cracks using specific epoxy resins.
Major repairs: In the case of more critical failures, more substantial interventions are required. This can involve replacing entire sections of damaged blades, a delicate operation carried out by highly qualified technicians.
Failure prevention: anticipating to better protect
Beyond corrective maintenance, a proactive failure prevention strategy is essential to minimize the risk of further damage to the blades and extend their lifespan.
Continuous monitoring: Sophisticated monitoring systems continuously monitor the condition of the blades, collecting data on their vibration behavior, deformation and orientation. The analysis of this data in real time makes it possible to anticipate the appearance of warning signs of failure and trigger preventive interventions if necessary.
Design improvements: Continuous research and development in the field of wind turbine design aims to optimize the resistance of the blades to environmental constraints. This can result in the use of more robust materials, the adoption of optimized geometries or the integration of lightning or hail protection systems.
A crucial issue for efficient wind energy
The inspection, diagnosis and maintenance of wind turbine blades are essential pillars to guarantee the safety, performance and sustainability of these installations. By combining rigorous preventive and corrective approaches, wind industry players ensure the production of reliable and sustainable energy, thus contributing to the long-awaited energy transition
The wind industry has experienced a major technological evolution in recent years with the massive integration of drones in maintenance operations. These unmanned aircraft offer considerable advantages for the inspection of wind turbine blades, thus contributing to the improvement of the efficiency, precision and safety of interventions.
Increased accessibility to hard-to-reach areas
Wind turbines, often located offshore or on steep terrain, present considerable access challenges for traditional inspection teams. Drones, with their ability to fly over these complex areas, effectively overcome this limitation. Deployed quickly and without infrastructure constraints, they easily reach the blades, thus eliminating the need for costly lifting platforms or specialized access equipment.
High-resolution imaging for a detailed inspection
Equipped with high-resolution cameras, drones can acquire images of unmatched precision of the condition of the blades. Every centimeter of surface can be analyzed, revealing the smallest defects such as micro-cracks, chips or deformations invisible to the naked eye. This fineness of analysis facilitates the precise diagnosis of potential problems and the rigorous planning of necessary maintenance interventions.
Flexibility and maneuverability for a comprehensive inspection
The exceptional maneuverability of drones offers unmatched freedom of movement, allowing them to move easily around the blades and adopt various viewing angles. This ability guarantees a complete and exhaustive inspection of the entire blade surface, leaving no corner unexplored.
Improved worker safety
The use of drones for wind turbine inspection has a crucial advantage in terms of worker safety. By eliminating the need to send teams to heights for perilous operations, drones significantly reduce the risk of accidents related to working at height. This development contributes to creating a safer and more peaceful working environment for technicians and engineers involved in wind turbine maintenance.
An essential tool for optimized maintenance
The integration of drones into wind turbine blade inspection procedures is a true technological revolution for maintenance. Their ability to overcome access constraints, provide images of unparalleled precision and contribute to worker safety makes these unmanned aircraft valuable allies for optimized and efficient preventive maintenance. The wind industry has thus taken a decisive step towards optimized management of its assets, guaranteeing the production of reliable and sustainable renewable energy.
