Project description
New tools for wind turbine asset management
Europe’s pressing challenge of excessive energy consumption necessitates sustainable resource management. While wind energy is a leading renewable source, the lifespan and management of wind turbine (WT) facilities pose significant concerns. Existing tools have fallen behind the advancements in WT technology, leaving visual inspection and offline evaluation as the norm. With this in mind, the EU-funded WINDMIL project proposes a smart framework for the monitoring, inspection, and life-cycle assessment of WTs. Specifically, it combines affordable sensor technology, cutting-edge numerical modeling, and data processing tools to establish a comprehensive approach. By fusing structural response information, simulating influential factors, and employing a stochastic framework, WINDMIL aims to provide a game-changing ‘protection suit’ comprising hardware sensors and a modular software package.
Objective
The excessive energy consumption that Europe is faced with, calls for sustainable resource management and policy-making. Amongst renewable sources of the global energy pool, wind energy holds the lead. Nonetheless, wind turbine (WT) facilities are conjoined with a number of shortcomings relating to their short life-span and the lack of efficient management schemes. With a number of WTs currently reaching their design span, stakeholders and policy makers are convinced of the necessity for reliable life-cycle assessment methodologies. However, existing tools have not yet caught up with the maturity of the WT technology, leaving visual inspection and offline non-destructive evaluation methods as the norm.
This proposal aims to establish a smart framework for the monitoring, inspection and life-cycle assessment of WTs, able to guide WT operators in the management of these assets from cradle-to-grave. Our project is founded on a minimal intervention principle, coupling easily deployed and affordable sensor technology with state-of-the-art numerical modeling and data processing tools. An integrated approach is proposed comprising: (i) a new monitoring paradigm for WTs relying on fusion of structural response information, (ii) simulation of influential, yet little explored, factors affecting structural response, such as structure-foundation-soil interaction and fatigue (ii) a stochastic framework for detecting anomalies in both a short- (damage) and long-term (deterioration) scale.
Our end goal is to deliver a “protection-suit” for WTs comprising a hardware (sensor) solution and a modular readily implementable software package, titled ETH-WINDMIL. The suggested kit aims to completely redefine the status quo in current Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition systems. This pursuit is well founded on background work of the PI within the area of structural monitoring, with a focus in translating the value of information into quantifiable terms and engineering practice.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologycivil engineeringstructural engineering
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energywind power
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringnatural resources management
- engineering and technologymechanical engineering
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-STG - Starting GrantHost institution
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland