E-BOOK

The condition monitoring

comparison guide
Find out which technologies work best to increase turbine reliability and lower O&M
costs in the unique environment of the offshore wind farm.

WIND TURBINES
Contents The anatomy of a wind turbine 03

Condition monitoring in a wind turbine 04

Infrared thermography 05
Vibration analysis 05
Acoustic emission analysis 05
Oil analysis 06
MCSA + voltage 06

When will you see a failure coming? 07

Example 1: Cracks in wind turbine blades 09
Example 2: High-speed stage bearing failure 10
Example 3: Generator stator winding short circuit 11

Energy and performance insights 12

Summary table 13

Conclusion 14

Contact 14

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The anatomy of a wind turbine

In recent years, the call for green energy is becoming louder and For a fair comparison, we’re assuming all techniques are operating
louder. Wind turbines are key in answering that call. To generate energy in an industrial internet of things (IIoT) environment, automatically
from wind, several components inside the turbine work in harmony. transmitting a continuous stream of data to an analysis platform
without requiring sensors to be read out manually.
As turbines increase in size, their blades must turn at lower speeds to
keep from breaking the sound barrier. Inside the nacelle a gearbox Motor current
signature analysis
converts that low speed into a usable input speed for the generator.
The generated AC is converted into DC, making it ready for MCSA
transportation to the grid. Several auxiliary systems are in place to
orient the nacelle and the blades in the right direction for optimal
generation efficiency.
OA AE
Acoustic
Oil
AI+IIoT emission
Timely, effective maintenance is key to ensure continuous and efficient analysis
analysis
electricity generation. Compared to other industries, the operating and
maintenance costs of wind turbines are high, making it vital to choose
the right condition monitoring system for the turbine's various VA
IR
components.

This document will compare the most common condition monitoring Infrared Vibration
techniques—infrared thermography, vibration analysis, acoustic thermography analysis
emission analysis, oil analysis and motor current signal analysis—on
their merits in wind turbines. (For a more in-depth look at the Figure 1. Five common condition monitoring techniques, which can provide
underlying technologies, see our general guide to condition monitoring.) 24/7 data collection and analysis using AI and the IIoT.

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Condition monitoring in a wind turbine

Looking at a typical wind turbine, common issues include bearing
failures, blade defects, short circuits in the generator, and locked
yaw system brakes, resulting in unplanned downtime and a loss of
electricity generation. Each of these issues manifests in a different
way, which means that different sensors will pick up on a
developing issue at different points in time—or sometimes simply
too late. This means it’s important to select the right type of
condition monitoring system for the issues you want to prevent.
machines). Systems based on motor current signature analysis
have an advantage here. Because their sensors install in the motor
control cabinet and not on the asset itself, you can do most of the
installation work onshore. Mount and wire all the system's
components to a DIN rail in the workshop, then plug into the MCC
when you arrive at the turbine. You can even configure the system
for your network onshore, further limiting the time spent in the
nacelle.

A general note on sensor placement Now let’s look at the general pros and cons of each technique for
An additional consideration in selecting the right condition use in a wind turbine.
monitoring technique is whether the environment in which it
operates allows for maximum performance. All condition
monitoring sensors are sensitive pieces of electronic equipment,
and in general they must be shielded from environmental extremes:
very high or low temperatures, high humidity, strong magnetic
fields, shocks, corrosive substances, dirt and grit, and so on.

Sensors that require placement on or near the asset, such as those

used for vibration analysis, oil analysis, infrared thermography and
acoustic emission analysis, are notoriously difficult to install on
assets in hard-to-reach places (such as those encased within larger

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Condition monitoring in a wind turbine: five common techniques

Infrared thermography
IR Thermography can be a great tool for monitoring wind turbine blades and towers. Cracks and other changes in the metal's
composition alter its thermal signature, producing minute temperature differences too small to be seen, but easily picked up
through AI analysis of the resulting data. However, as IR requires a direct line of sight to the object that it’s monitoring, it’s less
suitable than other techniques for detecting faults in the turbine's gearbox or internals of the auxiliary systems.

Vibration analysis
Vibration analysis is a proven technique to detect bearing, gearbox and coupling degradation at an early stage. It has two main
drawbacks in a wind turbine. First, vibration sensors installed at specific locations enable detailed condition monitoring at the
VA component level, but require multiple sensors per asset. To monitor the generator drive train, for example, you’ll need to install a
vibration sensor on both the DE and NDE bearings of the low- and high-speed shafts, on the coupling between the high-speed shaft
and the generator, and on several parts of the gearbox to take advantage of this component-level monitoring capability. Second, to
accommodate the continual changes in vibration caused by varying wind conditions, vibration systems must integrate a second
system of tachometers or rotary encoders to provide load and speed information. The small space in the nacelle means different
components of the drive train are close together, which can lead to stray vibrations that interfere with local measurements.

Acoustic emission analysis

AE excels at spotting crack formation and the breaking of fibers, making it a great technology for the turbine's blades and tower. The
AE need for acoustic sensors to be on or very near the source of the failure can be a constraint, making AE less suitable for monitoring
components inside the gearbox or auxiliary systems. Proximity is also a limiting factor; like VA, AE can be thrown off by high-
frequency vibrations from nearby equipment.

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Condition monitoring in a wind turbine: five common techniques

Oil analysis
OA Oil analysis is great at detecting gearbox problems early. It's one of the few techniques that can detect cracks in the internal
gearbox. Because the technique involves sampling the asset's oil, it can't tell you anything about defects in the turbine's blades or
tower. Continuous remote OA analysis is also difficult and expensive compared with other techniques, making this a relatively poor
choice for hard-to-reach offshore turbines.

MCSA + voltage
MCSA None of the condition monitoring techniques mentioned above are able to spot electrical problems, such as developing stator
winding shortcuts in the turbine's generator, or electrical changes indicating a developing coupling failure before it manifests in play.
MCSA-based systems excel there. They’re also great at detecting and localizing mechanical problems in straightforward systems
like the yaw motors that turn the nacelle into the right direction, or the pumps and fans in the hydraulics & cooling systems.

MCSA also has some downsides. Because it uses current and voltage, it won't be able to tell you about defects in equipment that
isn't driven by an electric motor, such as cracks or broken fibers in the turbine's blades or tower. MCSA is designed for AC systems,
so it can't be used to monitor the drive train in wind turbines using DC generators.

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When will you see a failure coming?

By now we’ve discussed a number of common failure modes occurring within a wind turbine: blade cracks, coupling and bearing failures, generator
short circuits, and gearbox faults. Each of these failure modes has a unique fingerprint in terms of vibration, noise, heat, oil changes and so forth. Some
of these fingerprints are so pronounced that a sensor can pick them up as soon as they start to develop; others don’t reach a measurable level until
system failure is imminent. (Think smoke.) That means it’s important to choose a condition monitoring technology that excels at seeing the problems
you want to detect at an early stage.

The P-F curve displays this information in visual

form. P stands for potential failure; F stands for
P2
functional failure. The P-F interval is the time Figure 2. Sample P-F curve showing
between when we notice that a machine is starting to A P4 how soon a condition monitoring
deteriorate (point P) and when the machine actually P1 P3 technique will alert you to
fails (point F). There's a third point, A, which is when upcoming failure.
P5
Asset condition

the machine first begins to degrade. The closer P is

Pnoise
to A for a given condition monitoring system, the
better. The sooner you detect a developing fault, the
less damage the machine will suffer, the less energy
it will waste, and the less it will cost to service it.
Pheat
Psmoke
PREDICTIVE CORRECTIVE REACTIVE

F
Time

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When will you see a failure coming?

Now let’s take a look at a number of failures you might encounter in (There’s a fourth section we could add to the graph on the far left:
a wind turbine and see where the different available techniques end proactive. This is where you choose the right equipment for the job:
up on the P-F curve. in our example, a coupling that’s rated for the correct power,
torque, starting load and so on. But that’s outside the realm of
Note that we’ve divided all the P-F curves in this document into condition monitoring.)
three sections: predictive, corrective, and reactive. Technologies in
the predictive section will detect a developing fault very soon after
it begins, before it does lasting collateral damage. (Consider a loose
coupling: if you catch it right away, you can simply tighten it.) You might notice that the following examples don't discuss
every technique in equal measure; this is a result of current
Technologies in the corrective section won’t detect a developing limitations in the technology, making some systems
fault until some collateral damage has been done: in our coupling impractical in a wind turbine. In some cases, manual
example, this might be excessive wear on the gearbox bearings. measurements are the only option—resulting in intermittent
data points that alert you closer to point F than a real-time
Technologies in the reactive section are, in the context of the IIoT solution would have in the same situation.
specific situation the P-F curve is describing, last-ditch remedies.
Generally, so much damage will have been done by the time the
problem is detected that multiple components will need
replacement. In our example, one of the two shafts connected by
the coupling may crack from the added wear. At the extreme, you
run the system to failure.

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Example 1: Cracks in wind turbine blades

Figure 3 shows a sample P-F curve for cracks in wind turbine blades. The blades have to withstand harsh conditions such as high wind speeds and
freezing temperatures. When a blade becomes damaged, the whole rotor can become unbalanced, which has a serious impact on the turbine's
condition. In general, broken fibers or cracks in structures are faults that occur in the high-frequency spectrum. That means these types of faults are
best detected through acoustic emissions analysis and infrared thermography operating in the ultrasonic range.

The high frequencies make standard vibration

analysis less suitable for early crack detection. MCSA
is also a poor choice, since the blades are not directly PIR
driven by an AC motor. Both VA and MCSA will Figure 3. Sample P-F curve for cracks in
A
eventually be able to pick up the issue, once the wind turbine blades. Only AI + IIoT
cracks become severe enough to affect the generator PAE techniques achieve predictive
drive train. Oil analysis falls into this same category, performance.
PVA
Asset condition

but only once the structural damage propagates to

the gearbox. PMCSA POA

In practice, the cost of real-time remote IR is still

prohibitive, though there are initiatives under way to
make continuous automated IR sensing and analysis
competitive.
PREDICTIVE CORRECTIVE REACTIVE

F
Time

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Example 2: High-speed stage bearing failure

Figure 4 shows a sample P-F curve for a failing bearing in a wind turbine gearbox. While catching a degrading bearing before point F is obviously
important to keep unplanned downtime from occurring, a point P further to the left of the curve has the added benefit of allowing you to track the
failing bearing’s condition over a longer span of time—which enables you to cluster its replacement with other turbine maintenance in an optimally
planned window when the turbine is most accessible.

In an ideal situation, vibration analysis will be able to

point you toward the exact bearing that’s degrading
the soonest. However, this requires having a sensor PMCSA
installed on each and every bearing in the gearbox, Figure 4. Sample P-F curve for bearing
which can be expensive and impractical: in practice, A failure in the turbine gearbox. Only
VA often ends up a bit more to the right of the P-F PVA AI + IIoT techniques achieve
curve. In that case, MCSA has an advantage: predictive performance.
PAE
experience has shown that MCSA can detect an
Asset condition

POA
upcoming bearing failure up to six months in PIR
advance, which allows for optimal resource planning
for your maintenance windows. But the transmission
path prevents MCSA from monitoring the low-speed
stage bearing, so strategically installed VA wins out
there. Oil analysis will move left if inline sensors are
PREDICTIVE CORRECTIVE REACTIVE
an option; in practice, however, this is unrealistic.
High-end IR can offer predictive performance, but
F
the cost is currently prohibitive. Time

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Example 3: Generator stator winding short circuit

Figure 5 shows a sample P-F curve for a developing short circuit in the stator windings of a turbine's generator. Because a short circuit is an electrical
fault that manifests inside the generator, MCSA has an inherent advantage in detecting this issue at an early stage, through its ability to detect changes
in the generator's magnetic field before the effect moves into the physical domain. Vibration analysis will pick up on the problem in the predictive
section of the curve as well—but at a moment where the risk of mechanical degradation is closer, as the electrical fault has become severe enough to
manifest physically.

Figure 5. Sample P-F curve for a stator winding

A short in a turbine generator. Only AI + IIoT
PMCSA techniques achieve predictive
Asset condition PVA performance.

POA
PAE
PIR

PREDICTIVE CORRECTIVE REACTIVE

F
Time

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Energy and performance insights

Tracking down developing problems before they cause disaster is

the prime reason companies adopt a condition monitoring
technology. It’s what they’re made to do, after all. But MCSA +
voltage has an additional advantage: it can report on the energy
efficiency of your monitored assets and processes.

It takes both current and voltage measurements to make that

possible. In short, if you know the current and voltage a motor is
drawing, you can calculate its operational efficiency. You can use
that same data to calculate the ideal motor for that process, and to
calculate whether the process is inefficient by design. (Download
our sustainable industry white paper for more information.)

If your company is also looking for metrics to help you shrink your
environmental footprint, an MCSA + voltage system can help you
feed two birds with one scone.

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Summary table
VA OA IR AE MCSA MCSA
+v

Legend Remote or inaccessible assets

VA – vibration analysis
ATEX or other harsh conditions
OA – oil analysis
IR – infrared thermography
Noisy or vibrating environments
AE – acoustic analysis
MCSA – motor current signature analysis
Full generator drive train L L L M M
MCSA + v – MCSA + voltage

L – requires individual sensors for each Cracks and delamination

component of interest to capture data for the
entire load from main bearing through generator. Mechanical faults

M – the relatively short transfer path from gears & Electrical faults
bearings to the generator means that MCSA
sensors can capture data for the high-speed side Direct current (DC)
of the gearbox up through the generator. MCSA
can't monitor the low-speed shaft and bearings, Rotating machinery
however.
Very slowly rotating machinery

Energy insights

Table 1. Summarizing what we've discussed: what each condition monitoring technology does well (blue check mark) and
not so well (no check mark). (For in-depth discussion of all the entries in the table, see our general guide to condition
monitoring.)

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Conclusion

There you have it: a brief comparison of how the major condition
monitoring techniques perform in wind turbines. We hope this
guide helps you choose the best system for your wind farm. Or
systems—there’s no reason you can’t use two or more
technologies for equipment that should never, ever fail.

If MCSA + voltage is among your selection, we’d be happy to tell

you more about our solution, SAM4. Please contact us to book a
demo at your convenience.

Contact Passionate about solving the

problem of unplanned
Lars Ligtenberg downtime, Semiotic Labs
Sales development representative uses AI-driven electrical
lars@semioticlabs.com waveform analysis to create
smart predictive maintenance
+31 653 325 256
solutions that increase
productivity while saving
www.semioticlabs.com
customers' time and money.

E-book | The condition monitoring comparison guide for wind turbines WIND TURBINES