2011 ESREL Conference, Troyes, France, September 18-22, 2011

Guaranteeing High Availability of Wind Turbines

G. Haddad1, P.A. Sandborn1, T. Jazouli1, M.G. Pecht1, B. Foucher2, V. Rouet2
1Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
2EADS Innovation Works, Suresnes France

 

Abstract:

Modern wind turbines are relatively "immature" in the sense that they have not been fielded for a sufficient amount of time to assess their long-term viability. Availability, the ability of a system to function when it is required, is a major concern for alternative energy systems. Profits and environmental benefits will be lost if the costs and energy required to maintain a system outweigh the benefits obtained. Prognostics and system health management (PHM) methods can have a significant impact on the wind energy community. PHM enables the manufacturers and operators of complex systems to move from traditional time- or cycle-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance, which can significantly improve availability. This paper discusses the challenges in guaranteeing the high availability of wind turbines, and the use of PHM as a methodology to guarantee the high availability. A new sensor system for the health monitoring of turbine blades is proposed and a return on investment analysis for its use is presented.

Full Text