To prevent a wind turbine from being damaged by lightning strikes, the rotor tips and housing are fitted with lightning rods. These can lose their function over time due to lightning strikes, so the next strike can lead to a fire or worse. A Japanese company has now developed a drone to test lightning rods on wind turbines.

Lightning damage

Windmills are preferably placed as freestanding and high as possible to catch as much wind as possible. This has the inherent disadvantage that the risk of lightning strikes is high. Such an impact can be disastrous: the force of an impact can mechanically damage rotors or housing, not to mention the fire hazard. There is also a risk of a fatal peak current in the electrical installation.

For this reason, the rotors and housing are equipped with lightning rods, which safely discharge the current from a lightning strike to the ground. However, with repeated impacts, these rods can lose their functionality over time. Corrosion of…

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Source: dronexl.co