Composite Wind Turbine Blade Remaining Life Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for assessing the remaining life of composite material structures, such as wind turbine blades made of fiber reinforced resin, face challenges in accuracy due to variations in fatigue life and the inability to accurately quantify remaining life using either load history or direct damage state measurements.
Innovation Solution
A remaining life assessment apparatus and method that combines load history assessment, state quantity assessment, and a comparative assessment using a database to correlate load history and state quantity changes, providing a high-accuracy estimation of remaining life by comparing calculated data with recorded variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If load history measurement and S-N diagram method is used for remaining life assessment, then the assessment can be performed based on quantitative stress amplitude, but the accuracy is significantly affected by fatigue life variations of composite material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate assessment approaches: (1) load history assessment using S-N diagrams and rainflow method, and (2) state quantity assessment using AE sensors and natural frequency measurement. By merging these methods and comparing their results, the system eliminates the influence of fatigue life variations and achieves high-accuracy remaining life assessment that neither method could achieve alone.
2Adaptability or versatility
If direct damage state measurement using AE sensor or natural frequency is used, then load history dependency is eliminated, but the state quantity does not always coincide with remaining life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the results from state quantity assessment (AE sensor, natural frequency) are compared with load history assessment results. This feedback loop allows the system to validate and refine the remaining life estimation, ensuring that the state quantity measurements accurately reflect the actual remaining life despite the inherent variations in composite material fatigue behavior.
Data Source
AI summary
To provide high-accuracy assessment of a remaining life of a composite material structure. A remaining life assessment system 5 for composite material structure includes: a load history assessment part 7 that calculates a history of load on a composite material based on output from a first sensor attached to the composite material; a state quantity assessment part 10 that calculates a state quantity of the composite material based on output from the first sensor or a second sensor; a state quantity change database 13 that holds previously recorded relation between the load history and the state quantity of the composite material; and a comparative assessment part 12 that compares the calculated load history and state quantity with the load history and state quantity stored in the state quantity change database 13.