a b s t r a c tParabolic trough concentrators are the most widely deployed type of solar thermal power plant. The majority of parabolic trough plants operate up to 400 C. However, recent technological advances involving molten salts instead of oil as working fluid the maximum operating temperature can exceed 550 C. CSP plants face several technical problems related to the structural integrity and inspection of critical components such as the solar receivers and insulated piping of the coolant system. The inspection of the absorber tube is very difficult as it is covered by a cermet coating and placed inside a glass envelope under vacuum. Volumetric solar receivers are used in solar tower designs enabling increased operational temperature and plant efficiency. However, volumetric solar receiver designs inherently pose a challenging inspection problem for maintenance engineers due to their very complex geometry and characteristics of the materials employed in their manufacturing. In addition, the rest of the coolant system is insulated to minimise heat losses and therefore it cannot be inspected unless the insulation has been removed beforehand. This paper discusses the non-destructive evaluation techniques that can be employed to inspect solar receivers and insulated pipes as well as relevant research and development work in this field.

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a b s t r a c tWind turbines mounted on cold climate sites are subject to icing which could significantly influence the performance of the turbine blades for harvesting wind energy. In this study, an innovative dual de-icing system under development is described. This either prevents ice accumulation (anti-icing) or removes any ice layer present on the surface of the blade material (de-icing). A modelling study on ultrasonic guided waves propagating in composite blades was used to determine the optimal frequency and location of the transducers for ensuring wave propagation, causing the required level of energy concentration and resulting shear stress across the leading edge of the turbine's blade. In parallel, the effects of low frequency vibrations have been investigated through modal and harmonic analyses. This allowed specification and optimisation of the positioning of shaker(s), together with the magnitude and direction of harmonic forces required to induce sufficient acceleration to the blade surface for ice removal. An appropriate survey was also carried out to evaluate the potential for fatigue failure of the blade due to harmonic forces induced by shakers. The proposed technique configures and presents an active solution for the icing problem, allowing safe and reliable operation of wind turbines in adverse weather conditions.

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Guided Wave Testing (GWT) using novel Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMATs) is proposed for the inspection of large structures operating at high temperatures. To date, high temperature EMATs have been developed only for thickness measurements and they are not suitable for GWT. A pair of water-cooled EMATs capable of exciting and receiving Shear Horizontal (SH0) waves for GWT with optimal high temperature properties (up to 500 °C) has been developed. Thermal and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations of the EMAT design have been performed and experimentally validated. The optimal thermal EMAT design, material selection and operating conditions were calculated. The EMAT was successfully tested regarding its thermal and GWT performance from ambient temperature to 500 °C.

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