Effect and detection of cracks on small wind turbine blade vibration using special Kriging analysis of spectral shifts

Undetected micro-cracks in wind turbine blades lead to failure and costly repairs. Effective remedies depend on proactive measures taken to detect such cracks at early stages. Defects and cracks cause certain shifts in resonant peaks amplitude and frequency (spectral shifts) of the blade depending on the location and dimensions of the crack or damage. Precise location of the crack is difficult to ascertain due to its small dimensions and random...