DESEO: Desarrollo de Sistemas Avanzados de Monitorización y Mantenimiento en el Sector Eólico

One of the major concerns with regards to wind farms is to keep the structural integrity of the windmill towers. With the goal of achieving the greater power generation performance, wind power plants areas usually located in areas with high average wind speeds. Although meteorological forecasting models have improved, and some expectation can be done, the random nature of the wind flow parameter exposes the windmills to high levels of mechanical stress. Besides, if damages in blades or dysfunctions in the mechanisms of control of the rotor exist, phenomena of disequilibrium of the rotor or aerodynamic asymmetries appear, which amplify the oscillations. These oscillations propagate to different parts of the windmill and eventually may cause damages in its elements.

The costs of repairing and maintenance due to the aforementioned problems are an important part of the annual total costs of operation of a windmill. Besides, when the time goes by, the ratio of failures increases dramatically and, therefore, the number of periods of non-availability rockets. The estimated cost associated to operations of repairing and maintenance of a windmill is around 20-25 % of the total cost per generated kWh (considering that over the lifespan of the windmill.)

Objectives

The aim of the project DESEO is to reduce the expenses associated to the maintenance of windmill farms. Hence, the corresponding objectives are:

  • Development of advanced monitoring technologies to anticipate problems that affect the operation of windmills.
  • Development of low cost and fast application repairing systems to reduce the time needed for repairing and review.