Maximizing Efficiency Through Maintenance
With more demands placed on wind energy, asset owners must stay on top of maintenance needs.
Wind power is a well-known source
of renewable energy and is a viable source for more environmentally friendly
power generation. President Obama is bringing attention to the market by
proposing a plan to ensure that 10% of the United State’s electricity comes from
renewable sources by 2012, and 25% by 2025.
Towering hundreds of feet in the
air, wind turbines are subject to extreme environmental forces that require
turbines to be inspected regularly to determine if maintenance is necessary. A
key issue within the industry is and will continue to be how to maximize a wind
farm’s efficiencies while minimizing downtime. The tips of a turbine blade can
reach speeds of up to 300 miles per hour, and with hail, dirt, and even rain
pelting the blades, wear is inevitable. Couple that with the bearings that
support the rotor and other moving parts that are subject to wear, and it is
clear just how many facets of turbine maintenance are crucial for efficiency. By
learning about different inspection techniques and practicing smart predictive
maintenance, unscheduled maintenance and downtime can be significantly reduced,
and assets will be able to run at full efficiency for longer periods of
time.
Scheduled Versus Unscheduled
Maintenance
Maintenance costs associated with
wind turbines are typically less expensive than maintenance associated with
other forms of electricity generation. Regularly scheduled wind turbine
maintenance is generally done two times per year, which translates into less
than 24 hours of downtime for each turbine being inspected. In a wind farm
environment, only a few turbines are down for maintenance at a time, so the
other turbines are still producing.
Costs associated with scheduled
maintenance are relatively low, however unscheduled maintenance can have a
significant impact on a company’s bottom line. Unscheduled maintenance typically
means some sort of problem or defect has presented itself, so not only are there
costs associated with the loss of production, but also with repairs that need to
take place. Unscheduled maintenance can turn into a costly and, often,
unnecessary endeavor when considering that simple schedule maintenance, also
known as predictive maintenance, twice a year would often detect any potential
flaws that would cause downtime.
Benefits of Predictive
Maintenance
Predictive maintenance has been
part of planning for other power generation businesses for years, and it’s an
important issue that must be carried over to the wind power industry. As
mentioned above, a good predictive maintenance plan can identify issues before
they become problems that could shut down operation of a turbine, but there are
other cost saving factors that result from predictive maintenance. Predictive
maintenance allows wind farm owners to schedule repair and maintenance at the
most economical time grouping turbines that need similar servicing together to
save time and costs.
Inspection Techniques
Predictive maintenance is a
critical part of operating a productive wind farm, and it is important to
understand when, where, and how to inspect turbines to best detect potential
problems. With the advances in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques and
equipment, inspection is a much more efficient and reliable results. The key
component to almost all NDT equipment in the wind power industry is portability
to make it easier to get to hard to reach areas.
Ultrasonic inspection is used for
locating delaminations in turbine blades. Using sound waves traveling through
the blades or rotors at a specific speed or velocity, in a predictable
direction, the waves will be reflected or transmitted when they encounter a flaw
such as a delamination.
Remote visual inspection is a
great technique for identifying defects and helps inspectors identify potential
problems very quickly through the use of video. Remote visual inspection is
typically done with video borescopes that easily identifies pitting, cracking,
corrosion, erosion, weld, and other defects that could cause unscheduled
downtime. When using a video borescope, it is imperative to find models that are
lightweight, have excellent light output, portable, and durable—which are all
necessities when inspecting the tight quarters of a gearbox, without sacrificing
image quality.
Inspection Challenges
Although predictive maintenance is
critical to maximizing efficiency and minimizing downtime, there are a number of
companies that are still not regularly testing and inspecting their assets
regularly. Climbing to the top of a wind tower is a difficult task, and, as the
average age of inspectors is increasing, it becomes more and more difficult. The
knowledge and skill set that these inspectors and technicians have from years of
experience are extremely valuable to asset owners. Some wind turbine designers
are adding service elevators inside the tower; however, this doesn’t solve the
wider problem. Older turbines most likely will not be retrofitted to include
this upgrade, and they are the assets that benefit from predictive maintenance
more so than brand new turbines.
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A more cost-effective solution is
to find inspection equipment that still allows experienced inspectors to review
and analyze data, and software makes this possible, especially with remote
visual inspection. Using a video borescope that has the capability to include
menu-driven inspection software will bridge the gap between the experienced
inspectors and those new to the field. Menu-driven inspection software guides
inspectors through the inspection process and intelligently auto-generates
reports that can be reviewed by inspectors who did not collect the data. Using a
non-destructive testing data management platform will even allow images and data
to be shared across multiple locations for the most accurate analysis.
Wind power is going to continue to
grow as a critical power resource for the United States and for the world.
Predictive maintenance is an important aspect in maximizing the efficiency of
wind power, and, as the industry expands, it is important to utilize a number of
different inspection techniques to ensure maximum efficiency and minimal
downtime. With scheduled maintenance, small defects can be detected and
corrected, avoiding unplanned downtime.
Author's Bio: Bob Ward is Power Generation Segment Manager at GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies.
May-June 2009
Maximizing Efficiency Through Maintenance
With more demands placed on wind energy, asset owners must stay on top of maintenance needs.
Wind power is a well-known source
of renewable energy and is a viable source for more environmentally friendly
power generation. President Obama is bringing attention to the market by
proposing a plan to ensure that 10% of the United State’s electricity comes from
renewable sources by 2012, and 25% by 2025.
Towering hundreds of feet in the
air, wind turbines are subject to extreme environmental forces that require
turbines to be inspected regularly to determine if maintenance is necessary. A
key issue within the industry is and will continue to be how to maximize a wind
farm’s efficiencies while minimizing downtime. The tips of a turbine blade can
reach speeds of up to 300 miles per hour, and with hail, dirt, and even rain
pelting the blades, wear is inevitable. Couple that with the bearings that
support the rotor and other moving parts that are subject to wear, and it is
clear just how many facets of turbine maintenance are crucial for efficiency. By
learning about different inspection techniques and practicing smart predictive
maintenance, unscheduled maintenance and downtime can be significantly reduced,
and assets will be able to run at full efficiency for longer periods of
time.
Scheduled Versus Unscheduled
Maintenance
Maintenance costs associated with
wind turbines are typically less expensive than maintenance associated with
other forms of electricity generation. Regularly scheduled wind turbine
maintenance is generally done two times per year, which translates into less
than 24 hours of downtime for each turbine being inspected. In a wind farm
environment, only a few turbines are down for maintenance at a time, so the
other turbines are still producing.
Costs associated with scheduled
maintenance are relatively low, however unscheduled maintenance can have a
significant impact on a company’s bottom line. Unscheduled maintenance typically
means some sort of problem or defect has presented itself, so not only are there
costs associated with the loss of production, but also with repairs that need to
take place. Unscheduled maintenance can turn into a costly and, often,
unnecessary endeavor when considering that simple schedule maintenance, also
known as predictive maintenance, twice a year would often detect any potential
flaws that would cause downtime.
Benefits of Predictive
Maintenance
Predictive maintenance has been
part of planning for other power generation businesses for years, and it’s an
important issue that must be carried over to the wind power industry. As
mentioned above, a good predictive maintenance plan can identify issues before
they become problems that could shut down operation of a turbine, but there are
other cost saving factors that result from predictive maintenance. Predictive
maintenance allows wind farm owners to schedule repair and maintenance at the
most economical time grouping turbines that need similar servicing together to
save time and costs.
Inspection Techniques
Predictive maintenance is a
critical part of operating a productive wind farm, and it is important to
understand when, where, and how to inspect turbines to best detect potential
problems. With the advances in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques and
equipment, inspection is a much more efficient and reliable results. The key
component to almost all NDT equipment in the wind power industry is portability
to make it easier to get to hard to reach areas.
Ultrasonic inspection is used for
locating delaminations in turbine blades. Using sound waves traveling through
the blades or rotors at a specific speed or velocity, in a predictable
direction, the waves will be reflected or transmitted when they encounter a flaw
such as a delamination.
Remote visual inspection is a
great technique for identifying defects and helps inspectors identify potential
problems very quickly through the use of video. Remote visual inspection is
typically done with video borescopes that easily identifies pitting, cracking,
corrosion, erosion, weld, and other defects that could cause unscheduled
downtime. When using a video borescope, it is imperative to find models that are
lightweight, have excellent light output, portable, and durable—which are all
necessities when inspecting the tight quarters of a gearbox, without sacrificing
image quality.
Inspection Challenges
Although predictive maintenance is
critical to maximizing efficiency and minimizing downtime, there are a number of
companies that are still not regularly testing and inspecting their assets
regularly. Climbing to the top of a wind tower is a difficult task, and, as the
average age of inspectors is increasing, it becomes more and more difficult. The
knowledge and skill set that these inspectors and technicians have from years of
experience are extremely valuable to asset owners. Some wind turbine designers
are adding service elevators inside the tower; however, this doesn’t solve the
wider problem. Older turbines most likely will not be retrofitted to include
this upgrade, and they are the assets that benefit from predictive maintenance
more so than brand new turbines.
A more cost-effective solution is
to find inspection equipment that still allows experienced inspectors to review
and analyze data, and software makes this possible, especially with remote
visual inspection. Using a video borescope that has the capability to include
menu-driven inspection software will bridge the gap between the experienced
inspectors and those new to the field. Menu-driven inspection software guides
inspectors through the inspection process and intelligently auto-generates
reports that can be reviewed by inspectors who did not collect the data. Using a
non-destructive testing data management platform will even allow images and data
to be shared across multiple locations for the most accurate analysis.
Wind power is going to continue to
grow as a critical power resource for the United States and for the world.
Predictive maintenance is an important aspect in maximizing the efficiency of
wind power, and, as the industry expands, it is important to utilize a number of
different inspection techniques to ensure maximum efficiency and minimal
downtime. With scheduled maintenance, small defects can be detected and
corrected, avoiding unplanned downtime.