5/17/22, 5:41 PM Upgrade of Damaged Gamesa G90 nose cone structure

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ENGINEERED SERVICES: UPGRADE OF DAMAGED GAMESA G90 NOSE

CONE STRUCTURES
Damage was detected on the nose cone structures of 7 Gamesa G90/2000 wind turbines in a French wind farm. Instead of just re‐
pairing, Maintenance Partners used its vision of Engineered Services to improve the lifetime and reliability of the equipment.

Cause of nose cone structure damage

Wind turbines are subject to continuous vibrations. Due to poor design and quality, this
type of wind turbine is prone to nose cone structure cracks due to vibrations. These
cracks can form a hazard for the structural integrity of the wind turbines. Moreover, the
damage could lead to potentially very large repair costs and turbine downtime in case of
a complete nose cone replacement.

Inspection
To determine the extent of the damage, Maintenance Partners was asked to inspect the nose cones of all turbines in the wind farm.

MP’s field teams carried out visual inspections and used non-destructive testing techniques to check the welds for cracks. The in‐
spections showed cracks developing in the connecting welds between the tubes that form the nose cone structure.

After the inspections, a detailed report with repair proposal was drawn up. The repair proposal offered the most cost effective solu‐
tion to the client in which production losses were reduced to a minimum.

To correct the nose cone structure problems, MP’s Engineering department has developed an upgrade method with improved solu‐
tion to safely extend the lifetime in the long run (until decommissioning of the wind turbine).

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5/17/22, 5:41 PM Upgrade of Damaged Gamesa G90 nose cone structure

Repairs: Temporary Safety Kit

Due to the winter windy season coming up, to reduce the outage time to a minimum and to avoid further damage, MP proposed the
customer to repair the nose cone structure in the shortest possible timeframe and on the shortest notice. First, Temporary safety
kits were installed to immediately reduce the hazards caused by this damage.

Structural Upgrade
After installation of the safety kits, MP implemented the upgrades to each turbine. The upgrade included:

Safety kit
Dismantling
Cleaning
Replacing 6 damaged structural tubes for each nose cone structure
Welding of structure using special purpose procedures
Application of Strengthening plates
Installation of additional calipers
Passivation for corrosion resistance
NDT including Cofrend 2 welding certification
Conformity certificate
Material certificate

Because all works had to be performed onsite and inside the nacelle, elaborate safety measures were taken to ensure the safety of
all workers onsite and the turbine itself.

Afterwards, the turbines were recommissioned and started up by MP’s field team.

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5/17/22, 5:41 PM Upgrade of Damaged Gamesa G90 nose cone structure

Results for Customer

After applying the upgrades, the customer is now sure that the nose cone structures are solid and that they will last until
decommissioning.

Contact us
Are you looking for an inspection of the nose structures in your Gamesa G90 turbines or do you want to know how we can optimize
your wind turbine efficiency? Call us at +32(0)81 40 08 21 or send us a message using the form below:

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