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More safety for offshore wind turbines

With the rise of green energy, it becomes more and more important to ensure robust and durable solutions for power generation, which can work reliably for decades. But offshore wind turbines raise particular challenges for operators and manufacturers. On the high seas the turbines are constantly exposed to harsh environmental conditions. This requires modern monitoring solutions that can measure external influences such as vibrations and structural safety.

In-Situ-WIND project allows early damage detection

As part of the large In-Situ-WIND project the University Siegen develops a monitoring system to detect damages of the grout connections in offshore wind turbines. Two different approaches are being pursued for the system development, based on radar technology on the one hand and vibration technology on the other.

The focus of the research team is on the development of algorithms to compensate for EOC effects (Environmental and Operational Conditions) on the existing damage characteristics. In addition the team is developing new damage detection approaches with indicators that are sensitive to changes in the grout connections, but insensitive to changes in the load and operating conditions of the turbine itself.

A broad database, recorded under real offshore conditions, is eminently important for developing algorithms, which is why the measurement system is already installed in a real wind turbine near Helgoland.

Reliable and fail-safe power supplies

PULS is supporting the project with its robust power supplies, as well as electronic circuit breakers and DC UPS units, which supply the measurement and data acquisition system with energy.

The system design shows that a very high level of reliability and availability is important. The team chose our 480W power supplies with integrated decoupling feature (CP20.241-R1). These units allow the design of a redundant power supply system without the need for an additional redundancy module. Additionally one CP20.241-R1 is connected to a DC UPS unit. The electronic circuit breaker (PISA-B-812-B1) is used to distribute the current within the system.

The team also uses the relay contact provided by the power supply units and the electronic circuit breaker for diagnosis. These are connected to an industrial PC (IPC) which also serves as a data acquisition interface.

PULS is happy to support these important research projects with its products.

In-Situ-WIND contact:

Marcel Wiemann | LinkedIn profile
Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter mit akademischem Abschluss
University Siegen

In-Situ-WIND team from the university in Siegen, Germany. (© Picture In-Situ-WIND)

Offshore wind turbine.

Training before the installation of the measurement system. (© Picture In-Situ-WIND) Installation of the system in an offshore wind park near Helgoland. (© Picture In-Situ-WIND)