Quantification of Condition Monitoring Benefit for Offshore Wind Turbines

Abstract

Condition monitoring (CM) systems are increasingly installed in wind turbines with the goal of providing component-specific information to wind farm operators, theoretically increasing equipment availability via maintenance and operating actions based on this information. In the offshore case, economic benefits of CM systems are often assumed to be substantial, as compared with experience of onshore systems. Quantifying this economic benefit is non-trivial, especially considering the general lack of utility experience with large offshore wind farms. A quantitative measure of these benefits is therefore of value to utilities and operations and maintenance (O & M) groups involved in planning and operating future offshore wind farms. The probabilistic models presented in this paper employ a variety of methods including discrete-time Markov Chains, Monte Carlo methods and time series modelling. The flexibility and insight provided by this framework captures the necessary operational nuances of this complex problem, thus enabling evaluation of wind turbine CM offshore. The paper concludes with a study of baseline CM benefit, sensitivity to O & M costs and finally effectiveness of the CM system itself.

Fault Prediction and Diagnosis of Wind Turbine Generators Using SCADA Data

“…O&M costs account for approximately 10-15% and 20-25% of the overall energy generation cost for onshore and offshore wind power plants, respectively [2]. In particular, wind turbine downtime significantly reduces the reliability of wind power and increases O&M costs [3,4]. Condition monitoring systems (CMSs) that provide predictive maintenance have been developed and deployed in wind farms to help improve wind turbine reliability and reduce O&M costs [1,5].…”

Improved Methodology of Weather Window Prediction for Offshore Operations Based on Probabilities of Operation Failure

“…O'Conor et al [24] gives 3 m and 16 m/s weather limits for jack-up vessels and investigates the effect of wave period on wave height limits for a simple workboat. McMillan and Ault [25] present a different point of view, suggesting that wind speed constraints for offshore wind turbine maintenance depend on the activities performed-i.e., blade removal prohibited for wind speeds above 7 m/s, working on the nacelle prohibited for wind speeds above 15 m/s, etc. Generally, significant wave height limit is used for crew transfer vessels (CTV boats) during transportation from port to offshore wind farm and wind speed limit is linked to safe working environment for technicians at wind turbine hub height.…”

Modelling the propagation of underwater acoustic emissions for condition monitoring of marine renewable energy

“…It has been shown within the wind energy sector that O&M costs can be drastically reduced through the use of condition-based maintenance scheduling, where the turbine is monitored for faults through a variety of methods (Mcmillan & Ault 2007). This is in contrast to the simpler methods of reactive maintenance (performing maintenance when needed) and preventative maintenance (performing maintenance at regular intervals regardless of condition).…”