Wind Turbine Maintenance Scheduling by Operational Usage Thresholds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wind turbine maintenance scheduling is based on time intervals, which fails to account for variations in operational usage, leading to potential under-maintenance of high-usage turbines and over-maintenance of low-usage turbines, resulting in inefficient maintenance practices and increased lifecycle costs.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for scheduling preventative maintenance actions based on operational usage, where an odometer representing the operational usage of wind turbine components is tracked and compared to usage thresholds, triggering maintenance scheduling when the operational usage exceeds the threshold, and allowing for flexible scheduling and optimization of maintenance costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If preventative maintenance actions are scheduled at predetermined time intervals, then maintenance is performed regularly, but wind turbines with higher operational usage are under-maintained and more at risk for unplanned poor-quality events
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the maintenance scheduling parameter from time-based intervals to usage-based thresholds. The system monitors operational usage parameters (such as hours of operation, cycles, or production volume) and triggers maintenance actions when predetermined usage thresholds are reached, rather than at fixed time intervals. This ensures that maintenance is performed based on actual component wear and operational demand, improving reliability for high-usage turbines while avoiding unnecessary maintenance for low-usage turbines.
2Reliability
If preventative maintenance actions are scheduled at predetermined time intervals, then maintenance is performed consistently, but wind turbines with lower operational usage are over-maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from time-based scheduling to usage-based scheduling by monitoring operational parameters and comparing them against threshold values. This ensures maintenance is performed only when actually needed based on component usage, eliminating unnecessary maintenance activities for low-usage turbines and reducing associated costs while maintaining appropriate maintenance consistency for all turbines.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial maintenance action by performing maintenance only when usage thresholds are reached, rather than applying uniform maintenance schedules to all turbines regardless of actual need. This prevents excessive maintenance actions on low-usage turbines while ensuring adequate maintenance on high-usage turbines, optimizing the balance between maintenance consistency and cost efficiency.
3Device complexity
If time-based maintenance scheduling is used, then simple scheduling is implemented, but the lifecycle cost of the wind turbine increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements usage-based maintenance scheduling by monitoring operational usage parameters and triggering maintenance actions when predetermined thresholds are reached. This approach increases initial system complexity through usage tracking and threshold management but significantly reduces lifecycle costs by eliminating unnecessary maintenance activities, particularly for turbines with lower operational usage, thereby optimizing the overall cost structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for operating and maintaining a wind farm comprising a plurality of wind turbines includes determining an odometer for one or more components of at least one of the pluralities of wind turbines in the wind farm, the odometer representing operational usage of the component(s). The method also includes tracking the operational usage for the component(s) using the odometer and a usage threshold. Further, the method includes predicting an expected time frame for one or more preventative maintenance actions based on a comparison of the tracked operational usage and the usage threshold. Moreover, the method includes triggering scheduling of the one or more preventative maintenance actions when the prediction indicates that the tracked operational usage will exceed the usage threshold. In addition, the method includes shutting down the wind turbine or idling the wind turbine once the one or more preventative maintenance actions are scheduled.