Retrospective

The seminar Inspection and maintenance of critical infrastructure with drones was held at Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Enschede. In retrospect, this is a very good choice, as Saxion is very active in developing drones for all kinds of purposes. Our host was lecturer Abeje Mersha.

Together with Saxion, we had selected four speakers to deliver the presentations.

Piet Mooibroek of Dronematica explained to us, that before you start flying a drone you need to investigate a number of things: what risks are you running, is it allowed to fly there, where are you going to land etc. It is also important to choose the right detection method. A very interesting method is LIDAR (LIght Detection of Laser Imaging And Ranging) This detection method uses laser light and allows you to detect very small objects. iet gave a number of examples, namely inspecting roofs, assessing heat leakage in buildings, cracks in walls and assessing the condition of football pitches.

Ayham Alharbat from Saxion discussed the inspection and maintenance of wind turbines. These are getting bigger and higher. The tallest one is already comparable to the Eifel Tower. The challenge is inspecting the blades for "bird strikes", damage and detachment of the material. Saxion is also working on drones that can clean the blades. This is done with a kind of steel brush.

Karst Beens of H2O-Drones told what you can use underwater drones (Remote Operated Vehicles) for. Unlike flying drones, the signal transmission here is via a cable. Underwater, this is the most common solution. Kast also showed some slides where ROVs were used to inspect nuclear reactors.

Ben Visser of Antea Group Netherlands talked about the applications of drones at bridges and viaducts. Interesting was the application of drones in inspecting the lay-up points at the train viaduct in Rotterdam.

Finally, I would like to note that this seminar attracted many young people and students. This is something we like to see as KIVI. I think it was down to the topic and the tour within Saxion.

All in all, a success!

On behalf of KIVI region Gelderland, Gerard Thomas

The speakers' presentations can be found below.

Presentation Karst Beens

Presentation Ben Visser

Presentation Piet Mooibroek

Target audience: KIVI members, maintenance people, exchange experiences inspection with drones.

Why inspection with drones:

  • Flying safely

Drones collect data safely in a non-destructive way and at a safe distance from objects or even in a non-destructive way with physical contact with objects. By using drones, workers' lives are not put at risk.

  • Efficient

With a drone, data is collected on average 8x faster compared to traditional ways of working. Traditional ways of inspecting are often manual and often in hard-to-reach locations.

  • Smart data processing

Drones can not only fly smart based on pre-programmed flight plans or, in some cases, even on Artificial Intelligence. Nowadays, data processing is also becoming smarter.

  • Flying hand

Today, drones equipped with a robotic arm can physically interact with infrastructure to perform inspections and even maintenance in a non-destructive manner.

Topics:

General information on applications

Inspection and maintenance of Wind Turbines

Inspection and maintenance of Nuclear Installations

Inspection and maintenance of Bridges

Tour of Saxion's drone lab

Programme:

16.00 h Receptionwith coffee/tea and krentewegge; demonstration of drones

16.30 h Introduction by chairman of the day Sjanne Wolterink, KIVI Region Gelderland and explanation of Poll EveryWhere

16.45 h Applications of Drones by Piet Mooibroek, Dronematica, including:

- Visual inspection

- Thermal inspection

- Mapping - Mapping

- Safety

17.15 h Inspection and maintenance of wind turbines by Ayham Alharbat, Saxion Smart Mechatronics & Robotics Research Group (English)

17.45 h Break with sandwiches and a hot snack

18.30 h Tour of Saxion's Drone lab

19.15 h Inspection and maintenance of nuclear facilities using underwater drones by Karst Beens, H2O Drones (see image below)

19.45 hours Inspection and maintenance of bridges by Ben Visser, Antea Group

20.15 hours Afterthought and panel discussion led by Abeje Mersha, Saxion Smart Mechatronics & Robotics Research Group

21.00 o'clock Closing

Ayham Alharbat's lecture is in English, the other lectures are in Dutch.

Link:

https://www.deingenieur.nl/artikel/drones-op-turbine-inspectie