Assessment of offshore wind energy converters

Megawatt class wind energy converters in the offshore environment represent a great technical challenge concerning the design, construction and operation. It is planned to build large scale wind farms with a great number of identical structures. Inspection, maintenance and repair actions contribute largely to operation costs. Therefore monitoring and maintenance planning is essential for cost efficiency in order to keep wind energy production competitive.

Research project

This research project is aiming at the development of a monitoring and assessment system for sophisticated inspection, maintenance and repair planning of offshore wind energy converters. A main component of this system is a Bayesian network integrating the results of reliability analysis. Furthermore this network is applied for diagnosis in case of failures.

An influence diagram was developed integrating a Bayesian network and consequence modelling. This network contains failure mechanisms of the structure considering the fatigue, the ultimate and the serviceability limit state. In addition, two plant components were integrated into the network. For all scenarios impacts, failure mechanisms as well as their direct consequences and indirect consequences were integrated.

This network integrates the results of classical and structural reliability analysis providing reliability of components as well as the reliability of the overall structural system wind energy converter. This information provides the bases for sophisticated inspection, maintenance and repair planning. Considering additionally the modeling of the consequences the risk and furthermore the robustness of the energy production system can be evaluated.

Influence diagram for the assessment of reliability of offshore wind energy converters.

Prof.Dr. Michael H. Faber, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sebastian Thöns, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ETH Zurich

Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Structural Engineering

Chair of Risk and Safety, http://www.ibk.ethz.ch/fa/index_EN