Wind Turbine Support Structure Remaining Life Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wind turbine support structures experience disproportionate stress and fatigue during operation, leading to uneven service life, where highly loaded portions deteriorate faster than less loaded ones, potentially resulting in premature end-of-life for the entire structure, while less loaded sections may still have remaining useful life for reuse.
Innovation Solution
A method to assess the remaining useful life of wind turbine support structure portions by analyzing wind data, using sensors to measure loads, and performing destructive testing on sacrificial blanks to estimate fatigue life, allowing for identification of sections that can be reused in other structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If wind turbine support structures are designed with uniform service life for all portions, then the entire structure must be replaced after 20-25 years, but highly loaded portions deteriorate faster than less loaded ones
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is divided into multiple portions or segments (e.g., tower sections, foundation elements) that can be independently assessed for remaining useful life. This segmentation allows different portions to be managed differently based on their individual fatigue histories and loading conditions, rather than replacing the entire structure uniformly after a fixed service life.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the support structure are evaluated based on their specific local conditions, including their unique loading histories, stress concentrations, and fatigue damage accumulation. This local quality assessment enables identification of which portions have remaining useful life and can be reused, versus which portions have deteriorated and must be replaced.
2Reliability
If the entire support structure is replaced after 20-25 years, then compliance with design service life is maintained, but useful materials and structural portions are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of discarding the entire support structure after 20-25 years, the method identifies and recovers portions that have remaining useful life. These portions can be reused in other wind turbines or structural applications, thereby reducing material waste and the need for complete replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
Sacrificial blanks or test specimens are created as copies of the actual support structure portions to be assessed. These blanks undergo controlled destructive testing to determine fatigue life and remaining useful life without compromising the actual structure. The testing results then inform decisions about which portions can be reused.
3Measurement precision
If destructive testing is performed on all support structure portions, then accurate remaining useful life assessment is achieved, but the structure cannot be reused
Solution Approach 1:
Sacrificial blanks or test specimens are created as copies of the actual support structure portions to be assessed. These blanks undergo controlled destructive testing to determine fatigue life and remaining useful life without compromising the actual structure. The testing results then inform decisions about which portions can be reused.
Solution Approach 2:
The method extracts or removes sacrificial blanks from the support structure before destructive testing begins. These blanks are separate, removable specimens that can be tested without affecting the main structure. After testing, the blanks are discarded while the intact main structure portions can be evaluated for reuse based on the test results.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods for assessing the useful life that may remain for a portion of a wind turbine support structure. The methods may include identifying an overall expected useful life for the portion of the support structure and estimating an expended life from the extent of loading that has occurred to the portion of the support structure during the operative life of a wind turbine. The useful life remaining for the portion may be determined by subtracting the expended life from the overall expected useful life.