Blade Assets – Extend Life and Reduce Risks with Proactive Maintenance

Blade Assets – Extend Life
and Reduce Risks with
Proactive Maintenance

Before We Start
q  This webinar will be available at
www.windpowerengineering.com & email
q  Q&A at the end of the presentation
q  Hashtag for this webinar: #WindWebinar

Moderator Presenter
Paul Dvorak
Windpower Engineering
& Development
Aaron Wahlstrom
Broadwind Energy

© 2015 Broadwind Services, LLC All rights reserved.
BLADE ASSETS – EXTEND LIFE AND REDUCE RISK
WITH PROACTIVE MAINTENANCE

Our key topics
§  Important steps you can take to implement a proactive blade
maintenance program
§  Dramatically increase the lifecycle of blades and reduce down time
§  Common blade issues for all makes and models.
§  Importance of routine blade inspections to identify issues early
§  How impaired blades impact WTG reliability and performance
§  Comparison of leading edge protection solutions
Thinking like a wind farm owner, acting as your partner.

§  Most comprehensive proactive GBX
maintenance program
§  Borescope inspection
§  4-‐‑phase oil change
§  Patent pending MW class GBX
rebuilds executed entirely up-‐‑
tower
§  3-‐‑year rebuild warranty

We are the largest non-routine
ISP in North America

§  BladeHD -‐‑ a stunning full proﬁle map
of suspect areas
§  BladenaTM -‐‑ strategic alliance to install
D-‐‑stringTM technology
§  OEM factory support & authorized
service provider

Awareness of blade damage is
increasing

Panel Breathing Induced by Gravity
Trailing edge panel breathing induced by
gravity introduces peeling stresses in the
bond lines

Breathing and peeling stresses are the root
cause for cracks in the trailing edge region in
the max chord area


Turbines and blades are getting bigger!
Gravity forces on blades are cyclic
§  Pull down as the blade is on the way down
§  Pull in the opposite direction on the way up
This causes ‘breathing’
… independent of wind forces
Blade length L: from 20 m to ~100 m
Gravity forces increase with L3
Bending moment increases with L4
e.g. for a 60 m blade:
§  Gravity forces are 27x larger
§  Bending moment is 81x larger
… than for a 20 m blade and
for a 100 m blade: 125x / 625x
Bigger blades = more risk

Stronger blades – more energy
Typical 12 D-‐‑Strings installed in max chord area
Without
D-‐‑Strings®
installed
With
D-‐‑Strings®
installed
Red = high peeling stresses
Blue = low peeling stresses
Damages typically seen due to trailing edge panel breathing – Eliminated by D-‐‑String®
Transverse cracks in the
trailing edge panel
Hairline cracks in
the trailing edge
Longitudinal cracks along
the bond lines
Peeling stresses removed by D-‐‑String®

Simply stop breathing
Blade panel deformations induced by edgewise
gravity loads causes panel breathing
Without
D-‐‑Strings
With
D-‐‑Strings
>D-‐‑StringTM – simply eﬀective!

Identify issues early
§  Prevent cosmetic issues from
spiraling into structural damage
§  Perform proactive planned
maintenance at a fraction
of the cost of blade
replacement
§  Reduce unscheduled
maintenance costs
§  Avoid media, insurance and
community
scrutiny

Everyday sources of blade damage and wear

Minor damage is the tip of the iceberg!
Minor gel-coat crack Investigation process Repair preparation
§  In-situ repair during
inspection feasible
§  Can be multi-day project

§  Reduces energy capture
§  In-situ repair during inspection feasible
cuts into energy capture
Moderate Edge Erosion w/
Structural Cracking
Severe Edge
Erosion
Minor Edge Erosion

Cracks and
delamination
on leading
and trailing
edges
Severe edge damage can be catastrophic
In-situ repair is feasible,
however typically one
week+ from date issue
found to repair

L/E Protection Tape /Paint
PROs
§  Longer lifespan in most cases
§  Best on Polyester/Gelcoat blades
§  Nearly same application time
Considerations
§  Cost
§  Edge sealing
§  Cutting, splicing
§  Drag loss factor <1%*
Factory Paint L/E Protection
PROs
§  Works for 1-1.5yrs on Epoxy Blades
§  Inexpensive
§  Bonds directly and wears predictably as
original coating
Considerations
§  Polyester vs. Epoxy Construction
§  Current level of erosion
Several solutions - Pros & Cons

Carbon Blade Construction
Unidirectional Fiber spar cap and box type construction
•  Prepreg fabric spar cap
•  Pultruded square or sheet bonded spar cap bundle
•  Carbon structure manufactured as separate component

Lightning Strike
Inspection
In-process Investigation
& Repair
§  In-situ repair during annual inspection feasible
§  Multi-day project

Evaluation Process
§  Damage assessment
§  Repair feasibility
§  Repair method
§  Access method
Considerations
§  Standards
§  Blade type
§  Mfg. specs.
Investigation Techniques
§  Visual (ground or in-air)
§  Acoustic
§  Tap test
§  Infrared imaging
§  Thermography
§  Ultra-sound
§  Lightning system continuity check
§  Bond line measurements
Blade Damage Evaluation & Techniques

ü Poor aerodynamics & pitch errors
ü Reduced service life of gearbox due to blade vibrations
ü Overloaded pitch control drive motors
ü Shut down during icing & high winds
ü Downtime waiting for repairs during peaks
ü Overburdened lean onsite O&M teams
ü Increased repair costs for crane access to repair blade
ü Inflated cost of the needed repair
Delayed maintenance
impacts your bottom line!

Proactive Blade Maintenance Checklist
ü Scheduled periodic inspections during non-peak season
ü Repairs are smaller and a fraction of cost of blade replacement
ü Improved reliability and performance through aerodynamic efficiency
ü No lost revenue due to down time waiting for unscheduled repair
ü Build a blade performance database to project future costs
Partner with a service provider who will customize a
solution to meet your unique operating conditions.
>Over 10,000 blades serviced.

Questions?
Paul Dvorak
Windpower Engineering & Development
pdvorak@wtwhmedia.com
Twitter: @windpower_eng
Aaron Wahlstrom
Broadwind Energy
Aaron.wahlstrom@bwen.com

Thank You
q  This webinar will be available at
www.windpowerengineering.com & email
q  Tweet with hashtag #WindWebinar
q  Connect with Windpower Engineering & Development
q  Discuss this on the EngineeringExchange.com

Blade Assets – Extend Life and Reduce Risks with Proactive Maintenance

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Semelhante a Blade Assets – Extend Life and Reduce Risks with Proactive Maintenance

Semelhante a Blade Assets – Extend Life and Reduce Risks with Proactive Maintenance (20)

Mais de Windpower Engineering & Development

Mais de Windpower Engineering & Development (20)

Blade Assets – Extend Life and Reduce Risks with Proactive Maintenance