Cornis

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Wind Turbine Blade Inspection and Ageing Tracking

Detecting blade defects and monitoring the ageing of wind turbines are major concerns for the wind power industry. Cornis is an innovative start-up created by holders of two PhDs of CNES (the French space agency) and of ESA (the European Space Agency) to offer the market efficient monitoring and inspection techniques for wind turbine blades.

Website
Email Address
Address
Prine Building,
Office 310,
75018 Paris,
48 Rue René Clair,
Île-de-France,
France
Phone
Fax Number

Detecting blade defects and monitoring the ageing of wind turbines are major concerns for the wind power industry. Cornis is an innovative start-up created by holders of two PhDs of CNES (the French space agency) and of ESA (the European Space Agency) to offer the market efficient monitoring and inspection techniques for wind turbine blades.

Cornis also pursues high level research and devolpment (R&D) for the aerospace industry and other industries (oil and gas, naval, etc.)

High-resolution images of wind turbines for blade inspection

With a user-friendly photographic scanning system, Cornis enables its clients to obtain a complete high-resolution image of their turbine blades in less than two hours. Images are enhanced and integrated into an online inspection interface where Cornis or clients’ experts can examine defects, similar to using Google Maps.

The system simplifies the inspection process, allowing for a low-cost high-quality operation. Clients can arrange frequent inspections with even smaller budgets. As a result, turbines’ availability and efficiency are increased.

Cornis blade inspection solution consists of a comprehensive, easy-to-plan, light logistics and cost-efficient analysis of your wind turbine blades in less than two hours.
Numerous high-definition pictures are taken from the ground.
Pictures are recombined to obtain a complete scan of the blade's surface.
The Cornis blade inspection interface enables you to go over the entire recorded blade surface and to directly view any suspicious zones, impacts, cracks, defects or signs of ageing.
Cornis blade inspection solutions works under non-optimal weather conditions such as cloudy and windy days.
All components can be fitted into one suitcase and are easy to carry.
With recognised knowledge and expertise in data processing in vibration analysis and images for infrastructure monitoring, Cornis helps clients validate academic solutions for industrial applications and monitoring systems for infrastructure.

Turbine blade imaging and 2D reconstruction

Images of the turbines are taken in a simple three-step process:

  • Picture acquisition: multiple pictures are taken by the semi-automatic machine, which can be easily carried by hand. The picture acquisition is simple and semi-automatic and takes less than two hours per turbine. It is carried out either by Cornis or by our clients directly on the wind farm
  • Data processing: pictures are processed and then imported into the Cornis inspection interface. There, Cornis uses its patent-pending algorithms combined with human interaction to ensure the quality of pictures
  • Inspection on computer: Cornis reconstructs the different 2D views of your blades (leading-edge, wind ward and lea ward and trailing edge) on a ‘Google Maps-like’ interface. Clients or Cornis’ technicians can browse the images to detect defects and leave comments. The easy-to-use online interface also stores the entire history of a turbine, facilitating further research

Autonomous blade inspection on wind turbines

Unlike traditional techniques, such as rope access and crane operation, which require the direct intervention of third parties, Cornis blade inspection solution empowers our clients or their general maintenance contractor to conduct the field work autonomously.

Clients can assess blade damage after a sandstorm, hailstorm or lightning strike or see the outcome of a previous renovation and then decide if a repair is really necessary. Blade inspection is made more frequent and cheaper, reducing maintenance costs and risks.

Advantages of a Cornis blade inspection include:

  • Portable and semi-automatic machine boosts fast deployment and even faster inspection
  • The solution is standardised from field inspection, to data processing and to result presentation, enabling collaboration and speeding up the learning curve
  • High-definition camera and algorithm developed for aerospace industry ensures a crisp image even in cloudy and windy weather
  • Ground-based solution significantly reduces operating costs and risks
  • Autonomy: no more time and money lost in planning, cancellation and production loss. Every hour, you can decide whether or not to inspect
  • Stored data: history of every inspection and evolution of blades are saved for further analysis

Renowned clients trust Cornis blade inspection solution

Due to its advantages, Cornis blade inspection is already used by prestigious clients such as ENEL, EDP-R, GDF-FE and WPD Wind manager for onshore turbines. Tests on offshore turbines will start in early 2014.

R&D services at Cornis

Besides its advance in blade inspection, Cornis has been using its vibration and image-processing techniques to serve industrial clients in many occasions thanks to its R&D consultancy services. Cornis has worked on numerous industrial projects, including turbine-monitoring solutions.

Cornis devotes its expertise to solve industrial challenges such as analysing vibration problem, accelerating signal and image processing, and developing new data analysis tools. Cornis always adapts to clients’ needs, either on short or long-term projects.

Some examples include:

  • Analysing operational wind turbine blade vibration data to identify damages
  • Data analysis of bridge vibrations
  • Algorithm development for image enhancing
  • Automatic detection and correction of aliasing in images
  • Experimental and operational modal analysis of aeronautical structures
  • Monitoring systems for different industries

Projects

  • Rush Creek Wind Farm, Colorado

    Construction of the Rush Creek wind project, the biggest single-phase wind generating facility in North America, is expected to commence in May 2017.

  • Dounreay Trì Floating Wind Project

    Dounreay Trì floating demonstration wind farm is being developed by Hexicon AB in the Scottish territorial waters 9km off Dounreay, Caithness County, Scotland.

  • Bhlaraidh Wind Farm, Scotland

    Bhlaraidh wind farm, located on the Glenmoriston Estate, 4km north-west of Invermoriston in the Great Glen, Scotland, UK, is being developed by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE).

  • Rentel Offshore Wind Farm, North Sea

    Rentel offshore wind farm, proposed to be built in the North Sea off the Belgian coast, will be the fourth offshore wind farm in the Belgian part of the North Sea.

  • Shannon Wind Farm, Texas

    The 204MW Shannon Wind farm in Windthorst town, Clay County, Texas, US, is jointly owned by Alterra Power (50%) and an affiliate of Starwood Energy Group (50%).

  • Neart Na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm

    The Neart Na Gaoithe offshore wind farm is a 448MW project that Mainstream Renewable Power, a global wind and solar company, proposed to develop in the North Sea off the east coast of Scotland.

  • Ararat Wind Farm, Victoria

    Ararat Wind Farm is a 240MW onshore wind farm being developed by Renewable Energy Systems (RES), a subsidiary of Sir Robert McAlpine.

  • Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm

    The Humber Gateway offshore wind farm is located approximately 8km off the Holderness coast, north of the mouth of the River Humber in East Yorkshire.

  • Macarthur Wind Farm

    Macarthur is a 420MW wind farm near Hamilton, 260km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

  • Snowtown Wind Farm (SWF)

    The Snowtown Wind Farm (SWF) is a 370MW onshore wind energy facility located on the Barunga and Hummocks ranges, about 140km away from Adelaide, Australia.

Address
Cornis
Prine Building
Office 310
75018 Paris
48 Rue René Clair
Île-de-France
France

Email address
Phone
Fax Number