Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Method and system for testing a lighting protection system of a wind turbine
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Application No.: US16216016Application Date: 2018-12-11
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Publication No.: US10935002B2Publication Date: 2021-03-02
- Inventor: Thomas Sulzer , Joonas Asikainen
- Applicant: Sulzer & Schmid Laboratories AG
- Applicant Address: CH Oetwil am See
- Assignee: Sulzer & Schmid Laboratories AG
- Current Assignee: Sulzer & Schmid Laboratories AG
- Current Assignee Address: CH Oetwil am See
- Agency: Oppedahl Patent Law Firm LLC
- Priority: EP17206430 20171211
- Main IPC: F03D17/00
- IPC: F03D17/00 ; G01R31/02 ; B64C39/02 ; F03D80/30 ; G01R31/50

Abstract:
A lightning protection system of a wind turbine (10) comprises electrically grounded receptors (51, 52) on turbine blades. A corresponding electrical ground connection must be tested regularly. For such a test, an unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV (4) places an electrode (41) near a receptor (51, 52). Using a high voltage generator (42), a high voltage is created between the electrode (41) and the receptor (51, 52), causing an electrical arc (45) between the two. A corresponding current through the lightning protection system (5) indicates whether the ground connection is in order. Thanks to the high voltage used, the electrical arc (45) can bridge a gap between the electrode (41) and receptor (51, 52) of at least several millimetres. It is not necessary to establish a direct physical contact between the electrode (41) and the receptor (51, 52). This simplifies controlling the UAV and speeds up the testing procedure.
Public/Granted literature
- US20190178230A1 Method and system for testing a lighting protection system of a wind turbine Public/Granted day:2019-06-13
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