WINDPOWER
2017 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK
CONDITION MONITORING What are the new ideas in condition monitoring for wind turbines? ROUTINE WIND-TURBINE MAINTENANCE once required a wind technician to suit up and climb uptower just to inspect what components might need upkeep or repair. Today, wind farm CMS firms can offer owners a whole new way to approach operations and maintenance, thanks to condition monitoring and advanced prognostic systems. Condition monitoring is an O&M tool that helps wind-farm owners and operators monitor the health of turbine components and related electrical systems. Its purpose is to predict maintenance issues so site operators can conduct repairs and replacements only when needed to avoid unnecessary and costly up-tower jobs. Although the intent is to cut time and cost from O&M tasks, condition monitoring system (CMS) have become rather detailed in accumulating and analyzing data and, therefore, costly. “Over the last few years a lot has changed in the field of CMS and data acquisition,” says Dr. John Coultate, Head of Engineering Development at Romax Technology. “For example, the idea of putting ‘intelligence’ in the data-acquisition box or in turbine sensors has proved unnecessary — this just drives up cost and the limitations on data storage and transmission.” Dr. Coultate points out that advancements in embedded computing also means that high-performance systems can be deployed at much lower prices. “Most systems today rely on an older and high-cost approach to architecture. But we’re learning that by using less expensive sensors and electronics in each condition monitoring unit — and only one in each turbine — the cost of CMS comes way down,” he says. “This is particularly important for operational wind-farm owners looking to retrofit their monitoring systems because they often don’t have the budget for new units.”
windpowerengineering.com
12. Wind REH 17 - Condition Monitoring V3.indd 47
Romax Technology’s ecoCMS is a new condition monitoring system for turbines aimed at making high-performance monitoring more affordable for wind-farm owners. EcoCMS combines Cloud-based software technology with cost-effective hardware to create reliable asset monitoring and predictive maintenance.
WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT — 2017 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK
47
12/16/16 9:57 AM