Remote monitoring of wind turbines
OFFSHORE: The Danish National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy - Riso / DTU, together with Noliac Motion, Innowacja Polska and EC Electronics Sp., has invented a sensor systems, that will allow operators of offshore wind farms to check the wind turbines from dry land.
This is made possible by incorporating sensors into the wind turbine blades to discover changes and damage in the blade structure at an early stage before the blade breaks. Remote monitoring of damage to off-shore wind turbines could save money, because the intervals between inspections can be increased.
Moreover, operation becomes safer and more stable as it possible to check from a remote place whether a blade has been damaged after a heavy storm. The project is called SESS and stands for Smart Embedded Sensor Systems.
The new sensor system is to monitor "the health" of each wind turbine, sending the information to the operator on shore. If the operators think it is necessary, they can send technicians to carry out repairs before a stoppage occurs. This will lead to significant savings in operating costs through the whole life of the turbine. It will also be easier to decide what to do with a wind turbine once it gets "old". Can it continue to work, does it pay to rebuild it, or should it be taken down and sent to recycling?
Risø DTU is helping develop the sensor system. Models describing the reaction of composite materials to various load conditions are tested in the laboratory, and classify the various defects and damages that may occur. Efforts are also made to model the reaction of the blade to the damage condition, and the loads during operation.
Source: Riso / maritimedanmark.dk
