The aim of our project is to develop, test and validate an autonomous unmanned inspection system that accurately detects internal structural defects in wind turbine blades (e.g. delamination, cracks, out of plane waves and debonding) using a non-destructive testing (NDT) technique called aerial radiography. The use of two drones, one carrying an X-ray source and the other a X-ray receiver coupled with highly accurate autopiloting and stabilization systems will make aerial radiography possible. With the use of this new technique, larger damages (and costs) will be prevented and accurate predictive maintenance is possible. In addition, the proposed system works autonomously reducing manual labor and inspection costs significantly.

This project is part of a larger project together with the companies SpectX and Avular. My focus lies in the stabilization mechanism of the X-ray source and detector that both will be carried by a drone.

Sander Doodeman holds both a BSc degree (2020) as well as an MSc degree (2024) in Mechanical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Since 2024, he is working as a PhD candidate at the same institute, within the Control Systems Technology group in the Mechanical Engineering department, with a focus on the stabilization of drones for aerial radiography inspections.