ONE YEAR OF CONTINUOUS DYNAMIC MONITORING OF A WIND TURBINE. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY AND FATIGUE ASSESSMENT

Abstract eng:
The paper presents recent results from a research project based on a continuous dynamic monitoring of a wind turbine. The monitoring system was developed with the capacity to detect structural abnormalities based on the continuous tracking of the modal properties of wind turbines (natural frequencies, modal damping ratios and mode shapes). In addition, the system is also capable to estimate the dynamic stress levels of the tower structure, in order to assess the damage condition and evaluate its remaining fatigue life. In the first part of the present paper, preliminary results from one year of continuous tracking of the modal properties of the wind turbine vibration modes are introduced. The main characteristics of the tracked modes are shown and the evolution of these modes with rotor rotation speed is characterized. In a second part, the methodology followed to evaluate the stress condition of the wind turbine tower is introduced. This procedure is illustrated and validated with the help of a numerical analysis of a wind turbine, developed in the HAWC2 aeroelastic code.

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