OEMs are rewriting LPS testing procedures because of Aerones

Aerones ground-based technology is enabling wind turbine manufacturers to speed up and significantly improve the quality of the procedures when the lightning protection system (LPS) is being tested.

Traditionally, a rope access team is doing conductivity testing only from individual receptors to blade root, not really considering the complete lightening path to the ground. At Aerones, we believe that only testing the full circuit conductivity and then troubleshooting the problematic area guarantees a complete health check of the LPS. OEMs are now recognizing the benefits of Aerones full LPS circuit testing and rewriting their test procedures.

Case study:

For troubleshooting malfunction Aerones field team went through sequential steps of testing resistance between various points:

• All receptors to tower grounding
• blade root to receptors
• tower grounding to the nacelle
• tower to hub ring
• tower to blade root screw
• tower to blade lightning protection device (box)

Clearly, the problem was located inside the blade near the root. Aerones field technicians were able to quickly identify that the down conductor was broken at the clamp location.

After connecting the cable with temporary cable wire, the lightning receptor continuity test was repeated and acceptable results were obtained.

Compared to traditional methods, full transparency and QC/QA is achieved. Aerones technology provides video footage recordings complemented with low resistance ohmmeter Megger device logs. There is no room for operator error and the possibility of doing a lousy job when conducting resistance measurements is eliminated.

Full loop conductivity testing speed is a clear advantage of Aerones technology in comparison to traditional rope access methods where only separate blade conductivity is measured. Conventionally, the full lightning discharge route to the ground is not tested appropriately. The LPS of your turbine is only as good as its weakest link.

More information about our services can be found on our website www.aerones.com.