Veiliger en goedkoper verbinden met Autonome Bout Machine – ABM
Publieke samenvatting / Public summary
Aanleiding
Wind turbines are placed on ever higher towers, to catch more wind and thus generate more power. The highest towers are up to 100 and will go up to 200 meters above sea level in the future. Most towers are made of steel and consist of three segments. The segments are connected with bolted flanges. Bringing all bolts and nuts to the right tension is of great importance for the durability of the turbines. Both owners, investors and operators or maintenance companies see the importance of bolt failure prevention and want to minimize the chance of occurrence. In addition to bringing it to the right tension, accidentally skipping a bolt is also a big risk. To date, the bolt connections are manually tensioned by mechanics who must operate large heavy torque tools. Due to the monotonous repetitive nature of the work, there is a good chance of human error: a bolt is skipped or not tightened properly. Martin Kristelijn, founder of IntoMechanics, recognized the potential risks of the bolted connections. Because there are no save, cheap and flexible automated solutions available, Kristelijn, together with his partner Jorrit Smit, came up with the idea of the Automatic Bolting Machine
Doelstelling
In 2019 Kristelijn and Smit started the development of the ABM, with Kristelijn focusing on the mechanical (hardware) research and the integration of newly developed components, and Smit focusing on the electrotechnical and software research and development. Since its inception, the development of the ABM has been brought from TRL1 to TRL6, the current stage of development. The robot has already been successfully tested in a workshop environment. In the present project, the 4 project partners IntoMechanics B.V., IntoMachines B.V., RAD Torque Systems B.V. and Deutsche WindTechnik B.V. want to bring the development of TRL6 to TRL8 and test the ABM in a relevant environment and demonstrate its operation. Before the ABM can be tested and validated in a relevant environment (in a real wind turbine on- and offshore), a number of components still need to be developed and have not yet reached TRL6.
Korte omschrijving
The research and development activities in WP2 and WP3 are: - Electrical design: wireless communication between ABMs for positioning and operation of 2 ABMs on a flange. active vision system for flange independent bolt detection and identification, to make autonomous torquing sequence possible. - Software control of various different torque tools by the ABM and communication between robot and torque tools for reporting parameters of specific bolts. management, control and communication with the “torque tool installation module” on flanges. machine - human interfacing for the operation of the robot by mechanics. - Mechanical design components for interfacing various sorts of torque tools to the robot. modules for sensing, bypassing and working around obstacles on flanges such as ladders. module that autonomously lifts and mounts tools that weigh over 40 kg on flanges, named “torque tool installation module”. module that can adjust automatically to specific turbine flange dimensions. a steel R&D Flange prototype, for the creation of a research laboratory. automatic installation and stability of the ABM on flanges.
Resultaat
The result of the project is a validated, save, robust, low-cost and flexible ABM that can be used as a 100% error-free automated system on a wide range of offshore wind turbines. Although not the focus of the project, the ABM's can also function in onshore wind turbines. After the project, offshore turbine installation costs are reduced by € 16,856 per turbine when using an ABM to install the bolted connections. Moreover, the installation time per turbine decreases by 5%. This reduces the CO2 emitted by the installation vessel by a considerable 5% per windfarm. The time savings can be used to install 5% more wind turbines before 2030, which further reduces CO2 emissions. Overall, if funded, this project will contribute to the Dutch climate goals for 2030 in a considerable way, by saving an estimated 10 million euro on installation and maintenance costs for upcoming Dutch offshore windfarms. Compared to the project costs and requested grant, the ABM project is very cost-effective.
Wind turbines are placed on ever higher towers, to catch more wind and thus generate more power. The highest towers are up to 100 and will go up to 200 meters above sea level in the future. Most towers are made of steel and consist of three segments. The segments are connected with bolted flanges. Bringing all bolts and nuts to the right tension is of great importance for the durability of the turbines. Both owners, investors and operators or maintenance companies see the importance of bolt failure prevention and want to minimize the chance of occurrence. In addition to bringing it to the right tension, accidentally skipping a bolt is also a big risk. To date, the bolt connections are manually tensioned by mechanics who must operate large heavy torque tools. Due to the monotonous repetitive nature of the work, there is a good chance of human error: a bolt is skipped or not tightened properly. Martin Kristelijn, founder of IntoMechanics, recognized the potential risks of the bolted connections. Because there are no save, cheap and flexible automated solutions available, Kristelijn, together with his partner Jorrit Smit, came up with the idea of the Automatic Bolting Machine
Doelstelling
In 2019 Kristelijn and Smit started the development of the ABM, with Kristelijn focusing on the mechanical (hardware) research and the integration of newly developed components, and Smit focusing on the electrotechnical and software research and development. Since its inception, the development of the ABM has been brought from TRL1 to TRL6, the current stage of development. The robot has already been successfully tested in a workshop environment. In the present project, the 4 project partners IntoMechanics B.V., IntoMachines B.V., RAD Torque Systems B.V. and Deutsche WindTechnik B.V. want to bring the development of TRL6 to TRL8 and test the ABM in a relevant environment and demonstrate its operation. Before the ABM can be tested and validated in a relevant environment (in a real wind turbine on- and offshore), a number of components still need to be developed and have not yet reached TRL6.
Korte omschrijving
The research and development activities in WP2 and WP3 are: - Electrical design: wireless communication between ABMs for positioning and operation of 2 ABMs on a flange. active vision system for flange independent bolt detection and identification, to make autonomous torquing sequence possible. - Software control of various different torque tools by the ABM and communication between robot and torque tools for reporting parameters of specific bolts. management, control and communication with the “torque tool installation module” on flanges. machine - human interfacing for the operation of the robot by mechanics. - Mechanical design components for interfacing various sorts of torque tools to the robot. modules for sensing, bypassing and working around obstacles on flanges such as ladders. module that autonomously lifts and mounts tools that weigh over 40 kg on flanges, named “torque tool installation module”. module that can adjust automatically to specific turbine flange dimensions. a steel R&D Flange prototype, for the creation of a research laboratory. automatic installation and stability of the ABM on flanges.
Resultaat
The result of the project is a validated, save, robust, low-cost and flexible ABM that can be used as a 100% error-free automated system on a wide range of offshore wind turbines. Although not the focus of the project, the ABM's can also function in onshore wind turbines. After the project, offshore turbine installation costs are reduced by € 16,856 per turbine when using an ABM to install the bolted connections. Moreover, the installation time per turbine decreases by 5%. This reduces the CO2 emitted by the installation vessel by a considerable 5% per windfarm. The time savings can be used to install 5% more wind turbines before 2030, which further reduces CO2 emissions. Overall, if funded, this project will contribute to the Dutch climate goals for 2030 in a considerable way, by saving an estimated 10 million euro on installation and maintenance costs for upcoming Dutch offshore windfarms. Compared to the project costs and requested grant, the ABM project is very cost-effective.