A Limited-Scope Reliability-Centred Maintenance Analysis of Wind Turbines

Paper in proceeding, 2011

This paper presents results from a limited-scope Reliability-Centred Maintenance (RCM) analysis of the wind turbines Vestas V44-600kW and V90-2MW. The RCM analysis has been carried out within a workgroup involving a wind turbine owner and operator, a maintenance service provider, a provider of condition-monitoring services and wind turbine component supplier as well as researchers at academia. The study forms the basis for the development of quantitative models for maintenance strategy selection and optimization. Taking into account both the results of failure statistics and expert opinion, the analysis focuses on the most critical subsystems with respect to failure frequency and consequences. The analysis provides the most relevant functional failures and their failure causes as well as suitable measures to prevent either the failure itself or to avoid critical secondary damage. In this paper, results for the subsystems gearbox, generator and rotor current control / converter are presented. Challenges identified by the RCM workgroup which are considered to impede the achievement of cost-effective operation and maintenance of wind turbines are discussed together with proposed solutions. Standardized and automated collection of in-depth failure and maintenance data, enhanced training of maintenance personnel, and the utilisation of quantitative methods for decision support in wind turbine maintenance are identified as important steps to improve the reliability, availability and profitability of wind turbines.