SENSORS | CONDITION MONITORING
SENSOR SOLUTIONS Precision sensor technologies are not only proving their value during the
production and testing of wind turbines, but also in the real time condition
monitoring of operationally active onshore and offshore wind farms.
A range of unpredictable
events such as lightning,
stormy weather and rough
seas can have serious
consequences on a wind turbine,
potentially resulting in defective
rotor blades, tower movements or, in
the worst-case scenario, complete
failure or collapse. This is why 24/7
monitoring is required.
Wind turbines stand around 130
metres high, weigh dozens of tonnes
and have average rotor diameters of
110m. If such equipment fails, cranes
and other machines are typically
unavailable at short notice and
offshore wind farms are not exactly
easy to access at any time of day or
night, so costs are high.
Due to wear and the complexity
of assets in addition to environmental
influences, there are several possible
problems such as shaft issues, gear
faults, gear wheel wear, material
fatigue, imbalance, temperature
differences, lubrication faults and
bearing clearances, which not only
impede smooth operation but might
also involve other subsequent or
secondary damage.
Proactive monitoring based
on precision sensor technology
is already used in the production
process of wind turbines and
continues in test rigs and in the realtime
monitoring of turbines during
operation. Worn parts or deviations
in production can now be recognised
before catastrophic damage occurs.
Not only can current asset
conditions be documented, but
trends and changes in measurement
data can be analysed and evaluated.
Maintenance becomes predictable
and sudden failure or downtime of
these large plants is reduced to a
minimum.
“Innovative sensor solutions are
now available that enable reliable
measurements and targeted
evaluation of critical data,” explains
Chris Jones, managing director of
Micro-Epsilon UK. “This sensor
technology helps customers by
preventing repairs, reducing failures,
reducing costs and helping to predict
maintenance cycles. Compared to
manual inspection where differences
can depend on a person’s tiredness
and mood, sensors can provide
high precision, reliable, repeatable
measurement results 365 days per
year.”
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