What to consider to optimize your assets and decrease downtime

By Tom Hall, Head of Condition Monitoring Services, SkySpecs

The wind industry has been growing rapidly in recent years, and as a result, the need for effective maintenance strategies has become more important than ever. One of the most critical components of a wind turbine is the drivetrain, which is responsible for converting the rotational motion of the blades into electrical power. However, the drivetrain is also one of the most vulnerable components, and failure can result in significant downtime and repair costs. To avoid these issues, condition monitoring of the drivetrain has become an essential tool in the wind industry.

Monitoring requires engineers to use multiple sensor data streams to monitor the health of assets in real time. However, with the wind industry growing so quickly, it means there are hundreds of thousands of assets that need to be installed, monitored, and maintained. Condition monitoring is very engineering-heavy and involves specialist engineers sifting through tons of data to assess conditions. It is similar to a doctor looking at thousands of X-rays every day — it’s very time-consuming and complex, but modern tools aim to simplify and unify data.

By detecting potential issues early and taking corrective action, operators can minimize downtime, reduce repair costs, and ensure the reliable operation of their wind turbines. With the continued growth of the wind industry, condition monitoring will only become more critical, and operators who invest in this technology will be best positioned to succeed in the long term.

The case study below outlines two real-life examples of what happens when a fault is detected and actioned early versus late and the impact that can have financially.

Both faults were very similar as they were defects on the generator bearings and happened on 2.05 MW turbines on the same site. Both developing faults were additionally spotted around the same time — however, that’s where the similarities end. The speed to action and associated costs were vastly different, as seen below. 

Wind farm operators don’t always have the resources to stay ahead of every fault that could potentially shut down their turbine. But early fault detection can be one of the most impactful approaches to lowering O&M costs and LCOE. As the case study suggests, early fault handling provides several benefits, such as reduced downtime, improved safety, lower repair costs and enhanced performance.

Benefits of early fault handling:

1. Reduced downtime: Early detection and handling of faults can prevent them from escalating into more serious problems that require extensive repairs or even component replacements. This helps to minimize turbine downtime, ensuring that they operate at peak efficiency for longer periods.
2. Improved safety: Early fault detection and handling can prevent catastrophic failures, which can be dangerous to nearby personnel and costly to repair. By identifying and fixing issues early, you can ensure that your turbine operates safely and reliably.
3. Lower repair costs: Early fault detection and handling can also help to minimize repair costs, as it can prevent damage from spreading to other components in the drivetrain or the turbine as a whole.
4. Enhanced performance: By addressing faults early, you can ensure that your wind turbine is operating at its optimal capacity, maximizing energy production and minimizing losses due to downtime.

Ensure your condition monitoring discipline is scalable for the future

SkySpecs applies innovative approaches and technologies that help wind farm owner-operators effectively manage their drivetrain O&M so they can properly identify, mitigate, and monitor the drivetrain risks most impactful to their operations. We care about the health and performance of your fleet and realize the true value of CMS occurs through actions, not just detections.

SkySpecs offers Horizon CMS, a software product for advanced teams of condition monitoring engineers as well as a team of SkySpecs diagnostic engineers that you can leverage to extend your team’s capacity and ultimately lower your O&M costs.

Talk to us about your drivetrain monitoring and diagnostics strategy.

Sponsored content by SkySpecs

The post Early Versus Late Drivetrain Fault Detection appeared first on Windpower Engineering & Development.

Automated blade inspections are making 15-minute wind-turbine blade inspections possible in many cases. Using a drone and highly intuitive software allows for repeatability, high-quality data, and safer inspections. (Image: SkySpecs)

The global wind-turbine inspection drone market is expected to $6 billion in the next five years and by 2024, according to Navigant Research — and for good reasons. Manual turbine inspections are a demanding, time-consuming task that typically takes a significant percentage of a wind developer’s annual operating costs. Drones typically offer quicker, more accurate and cost-effective inspection work of wind turbines and blades than conventional methods.

What’s more — and ultimately most important — is the safety advantage offered by UAVs. “Choosing a drone for wind-turbine blade inspections is the safer choice,” says Ben Marchionna, Head of Global Operations at SkySpecs, a U.S.-based robotics company. “It is far safer than a wind tech hanging off a rope at high altitude while in high winds and for extended periods of time, often day after day.” This type of manual inspection can take up to a full day for a single tower and months for a full fleet of turbines.

“On several occasions, we’ve identified critical damage by drone inspection that our customers were unaware of,” says Marchionna. “The repeatable, year-over-year data gained enables wind operator to determine the best and safest time to repair early damage.”

SkySpecs says it is the first and currently only provider of completely automated blade inspections using a drone and highly intuitive software that allows for repeatability, high-quality data and images, and safer inspection. Turbine inspections can be done in as little as 15 minutes in many cases.

“Automated drone inspections are key,” says Theresa Trevor, Director of Marketing of SkySpecs. She points out that steadying a drone near a turbine tower and blades is challenging in the unstable, windy conditions typical at most wind farms. “As a drone operator navigates around turbine blades, the wind speed and direction can change rapidly and unexpectedly because of how the turbine structure interacts with the wind. This makes manual flights exceedingly challenging and potentially dangerous.”

Where in-person manual inspections are subject to human error, automation is safer because a drone’s built-in sensors are far more sensitive and accurate than an operator working from the ground. “Autonomous inspection drones can maintain precise location, control, and image capture while safely navigating around turbine towers,” says Trevor.

SkySpecs recently introduced Horizon, an analytics, reporting, and management software platform for the wind energy industry. Horizon lets clients review and optimize repair campaigns based on predictive-maintenance recommendations from the data obtained during an inspection.

In addition, a well-executed automated flight relieves stress and prevents operator fatigue from looking up-tower for long periods of time. Safety is a particularly critical feature at offshore wind sites, which are expected to develop in the United States over the next few years. Reports point to a predicted 2,000 MW of offshore wind in commercial operation by 2023, and more than 25,000 MW planned over the next decade or so.

In June of 2018, SkySpecs successfully completed an automated inspection of the world’s largest offshore wind turbine in the Irish Sea, at Ørsted‘s Burbo Bank Extension project. “Autonomous drone inspections are particularly valuable offshore, saving operators additional crew-transport fees and O&M techs unnecessary and extremely risky trips by sea,” Trevor says.

Optimizing field time is an additional key to a successful and cost-effective wind-farm inspection. At offshore sites, this goal is critical because of the potential limitations of the environment. “Variables such as distance from shore, number of daylight hours, and wave height play a major role in inspection success and should be accounted for prior to drone flight,” she shares.

Here are additional safety tips for choosing a drone inspection service.

• Only partner with an experienced, well-trained, and certified drone operator.
• Ensure the operator is compliant with local law and verify documentation accordingly. Each country has different and changing regulations with varying standards, constraints, and approval processes.
• A drone operator should also have a documented process for pre-flight checks in place.
• Avoid drone “hobbyists,” who typically lack wind experience and extensive drone flying skills. They may pose a greater risk to wind-turbine site operations.
• It is important to note that offshore wind turbine inspections vary in comparison to onshore ones. There are far greater risks offshore that may result in asset damage, lost revenue, or serious accidents, so ensure the drone operator has offshore experience.

“Autonomous drones can quickly and accurately spot, measure, and analyze critical damage to blades for necessary turbine repairs,” says Trevor. “Such benefits are further magnified when one considers that the technology has led to great improvements in project efficiency and, most importantly, safety.”

The post Drones: A safer option for up-tower blade inspections appeared first on Windpower Engineering & Development.

Automated drones are making offshore wind-turbine inspections significantly safer and more efficient than onsite manual checks.

There are now 18,814 MW of installed offshore wind capacity in 17 markets around the world. Offshore wind farms are susceptible to many maintenance issues from the extreme conditions at sea, such as high wind and elemental exposure. Blade health is key to continuous turbine operation and reduced downtime.

To mitigate blade damage and predict failures before they occur, many wind owners are choosing robotic drone inspections. Speed, repeatability, and reliability may factor into the decision to use drones. In-person, manual inspections are subject to human error and can take up to a full day for a single tower and months for a full fleet.

Safety is also a critical feature, particularly at offshore wind sites. Using a drone for blade inspections is far safer than a wind tech climbing uptower in high winds and for long periods offshore. Drones can save operators additional crew-transport fees and O&M techs unnecessary and risky trips by sea.

However, selecting the ideal drone service company is challenging as more companies enter the market. Inexperienced operators are a hazard at any wind site, but the risks intensify at offshore sites where conditions are typically much harsher. Here are five tips to help with choosing an offshore drone inspection company.

Regulations surrounding commercial drone operations are in their infancy. Each country has different and changing regulations with varying standards, constraints, and approval processes. Ensure that your drone operator is compliant with local law and verify documentation accordingly.

1. Ask for automation
Operating drones offshore is a complex task. The environment is inherently unstable because of strong winds at sea, and there is a larger margin for errors in flight. As an operator navigates around the turbine blades, the wind speed and direction can change rapidly and unexpectedly because of how the turbine structure interacts with the wind.

Steadying a drone near a turbine tower and blades is challenging in turbulent offshore environments. Manual flight and inspection should, therefore, be avoided at offshore wind sites. Instead, autonomous inspection drones can maintain precise location, control, and image capture while navigating around turbine towers.

A well-executed automated flight relieves stress and prevents operator fatigue, which is common when looking uptower for long periods of time. Blades and tower present large visual obstructions that can make it challenging to get an accurate sense of how far a drone is away from the blades. Automation is safer because the drone’s sensors are far more sensitive and accurate than an operator working from the ground.

In addition, automated drone inspections typically let customers identify problem areas faster, and optimize repair schedules and costs earlier and more accurately.

2. Choose the right vessel
Drone landings and takeoffs must be precise, and this is a challenge in less-than-optimal conditions. High winds, waves, fog, or precipitation can interfere with safety.

To lower such risks, ensure the offshore vessel used for a drone departure and landing offers spacious deck space and that it is cleared prior to flight. Use of an ill-suited vessel can result in costly equipment accidents.

A picture taken from a drone captures clear evidence of erosion on an offshore turbine blade.

3. Maximize inspection time
Optimizing field time is key to a successful and cost-effective wind-farm inspection. At offshore sites, this goal is critical because of the potential limitations of the environment. Variables such as distance from shore, number of daylight hours, and wave height play a major role in inspection success and should be accounted for prior to drone flight.

Choosing an automated service that completes inspections quickly and safely ensures the highest level of productivity and output — when the weather and offshore conditions are fair.

In ideal conditions and with coordinated site support, an experienced drone company should typically complete about 15 tower inspections on a daily basis.

4. Establish good communication
Good communication is the key to optimal working relationships. This is particularly true for projects where timing and safety are essential. A drone partner should be capable of coordinating schedules with the wind-farm and vessel operators.

A team meeting prior to turbine inspections is important to establish communication plans, discuss project outcomes and expectations, and review safety standards. At the end of a day’s work, the team should meet again to debrief to ensure the operation is working at maximum efficiency.

5. Reinforce safety
Although offshore drone inspections remove wind techs and engineers from the direct inspection process, these offshore operations are still complex and accidents can happen.

A SkySpecs’ drone automatically collects images and data during turbine blade inspections — and in less than 15 minutes.

Partner with experienced, well-trained, and certified operators. Ensure the drone operator is compliant with local law and verify documentation accordingly. Also, avoid drone “hobbyists,” who typically lack wind experience and extensive drone flying skills. They may pose a greater risk to wind-turbine site operations.

Pre-flight checks are extremely important, so make sure they are completed properly. These involve double-checking equipment is in proper working order and that hardware is functioning as required. The drone operator should have a concrete, documented process for pre-flight checks in place.

Offshore wind turbine inspections vary in comparison to onshore ones. There are far greater risks offshore that may result in asset damage, lost revenue, or serious accidents. The drone, operator, and their offshore track record should be proven and impeccable.

The post 5 tips for offshore wind-turbine inspections by drone appeared first on Windpower Engineering & Development.