Doing it in house vs employing a third party. Decision-makers are always faced with this question when a new task lies outside the core competence of an organisation. There is rarely a single answer to this question, as the perfect solution is all too often dependent on many factors. This is also the case with condition monitoring.
Challenging task
Monitoring the condition of wind turbines is a complex art. A wide variety of sensors are installed at selected points on the drive train, rotor blades, and tower. These sensors deliver a continuous stream of raw data. Without appropriate processing, the data is worthless. Only after processing is it possible to visualise and interpret the numerous possible effects of small changes over time on certain sensor readings, and to assess the potential consequences.
In addition, condition monitoring analysts are working with increasingly complex calculation methods to predict the impact of a small change in measurement data on the wind turbine. These algorithms are trained and continuously checked using years of data from many different wind turbine types.
Complex interaction
In addition to the hardware and software for monitoring, and a suitable visualisation tool, specialist knowledge is also required; above all, this includes expertise in vibration analysis. However, such expertise requires not only advanced training, but also experience working with a large number of turbines over a long period of time to understand the actual meaning and significance of changes in the data. Furthermore, if analysts are familiar with the type of turbine being monitored, they will deliver more precise information about the most likely failure mechanisms. At the same time, prior experience helps to assess whether and, if so, which remedial measures can be implemented, either on site or through a more in-depth remote intervention.
In house or external?
Operators with a large and growing number of turbines usually look for in-house solutions to monitor their installation. However, if there are only a few systems to be monitored, a complete service from an external partner may be the preferred solution. In this scenario, monitoring experts can carry out all condition monitoring processes on behalf of the operator, providing recommendations to the team responsible for on-site maintenance.
A complete retrofit
What it can look like when an operator even orders a complete package for retrofitting old turbine types can be seen in an example from the ‘beehive state’ of the US. Longroad Energy operates 165 wind turbines at its Milford wind farm in Utah, providing a total power output of 306 MW. After about 15 years of operation, maintenance has become more expensive and spare parts for some turbines are be-coming scarce. Longroad was looking for a solution that would promote safe and efficient operations for many more years. To this end, Bachmann was able to implement a comprehensive overall solution with a park controller, a complete controller retrofit of the turbine, a SCADA retrofit with a higher-level control centre SCADA Master Control System (SMCS), and condition monitoring.
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