Reliability Project Offshore Wind Turbine

Introduction
The following reliability study will be looking at the performance of an offshore
wind turbine which is used to generate electricity for the national grid. Wind
turbines are an environmentally friendly method of generating electricity
utilising wind energy to generate the power, they are becoming increasingly
popular as they can provide very low cost electricity without any harmful
emissions as with more traditional energy sources such as coal and gas. Wind
turbines are not perfect and do have some negative points, these are largely to
do with how they affect people through visual and noise pollution. In order to
negate these two main issues wind turbines are now being moved away from
land and out to sea where the effects they have on people are minimised. This
move has allowed the use of much bigger turbines with longer blades, leading
to improved efficiency, better conversion of wind energy and therefore reduced
electricity prices for the customer.

Placing these giant wind turbines in offshore areas creates new problems which
must be addressed by the designers, one of the main issues being reliability.
The increased size of the wind turbines means that each turbine individual
output is much greater than previously, if a failure was to occur and a turbine
stops, a much larger proportion of energy production is lost leading to potential
energy shortages and blackouts. This in turns means that the continued
operation of each turbine is essential and potential down time must be
minimised. By studying the reliability of each component and the overall unit it
is possible to determine if the current design is suitably reliable and if
necessary, changes can be made to further increase its lifespan.

The second major concern for the designers is the maintenance of the turbine.
If a failure is to occur it is then vital that down time for energy production is
minimised. With the now much larger offshore wind turbines maintenance is
immediately made more difficult by the fact that it must be performed at sea
and also the scale of components is much greater. It is therefore vital that all
possible steps are taken to ensure maintenance can be performed easily and in
as little time as possible. In order to do this, potential failure areas must be
studied and consideration given as to how they may be rectified once failed.

The following reliability study and report will look at offshore wind turbine
design and asses the reliability and maintenance of them through use of tools
such as FMMA, FMEA, FMECA, HAZOP and FTA. The results of this will allow the
main areas of unreliability and probable causes of failure to be identified and a
report produced indicating current performance and possible improvements.

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Hardware Overview

This section will look at the main hardware, processes and systems which make
up a wind turbine and provide a brief description of each.

Bearing (Main)

The main bearing of the turbine supports the main shaft on which the blades
rotate, this is an essential component as it supports the entire weight of the
rotor (which can be up to 100 tons on a 5MW turbine) and ensures that it can
rotate freely minimising friction. It is positioned directly behind the rotor hub,
ahead of the gearbox and is usually of roller bearing type able to support both
the axial loads (wind pressure on the rotor) and radial loads (weight of the
blades). Due to the size of loads placed on the bearing a lubrication system is
required to ensure continued operation.

Blades (Rotor)

The rotor blades are essential components of the turbine as they produce the
turning effect which drives the generator. They are an aerofoil design which as
the wind passes over the surface creates low pressure one size and high
pressure the other resulting in movement. The blades are 61.5 metres long and
produced in carbon fibre giving an excellent strength to weight ratio. The pitch
of the blades can be controlled at the hub depending on wind conditions in
order to increase/reduce their aerodynamic effectiveness and therefore rotor
speed.

Brake

The system brake utilises a disc and calliper arrangement which allows the
speed of rotation of the turbine to be reduced if necessary when for example
the turbine speed becomes too great or if it must be stopped in order for
maintenance to be performed. The brake is mounted on the turbines main
shaft and is electro-mechanically operated. In terms of operation the
mechanism which operates the brake unlocks it during use so that should a
failure occur the brake fails in the locked position.

Control systems

Control systems of the wind turbine include items such as wind speed/direction
measurement which then allow the system to alter blade pitch and turbine yaw
accordingly. Diagnostic systems used to indicate problems or failures to the
Energy Company and also systems which measure the performance of the
turbine. This basically incorporates all computer controlled processes
performed by systems within the turbine. Additional features of the control
systems are navigation controls and warning systems to alert ships to the
presence of the turbine.

Foundations/Base

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The foundations/base of the wind turbine is the component below sea level
used to anchor the entire structure securely to withstand both wind and tidal
forces, in this case at a transitional depth between deep and shallow water of
40m. This incorporates the base of the tower which reaches down to the
seabed and is then supported by tethered ballast which is spread away from
the central tower to provide greater stability. The actual base of the tower uses
the most common gravity foundation which is a heavy base spread over a wide
area resting on the seabed i.e. it is not sunk into the seabed at all. This
combined with the ballast keeps the tower erect. It is essential that the
foundations do not deteriorate over time and corrosion prevention is
incorporated

Gearbox

A gearbox is necessary in a wind turbine to convert the low speed rotation of

the blades into the high speed rotation necessary for the generator to produce
electricity. The gearbox sits behind the main bearing and is a planetary type
minimising the space required and allowing a large increase in shaft speed.
Input is the low speed drive taken from the main shaft (blades) and the output
is the higher speed shaft which goes to the generator.

Generator

The generator is the component which converts the kinetic energy of the
rotating blades and shaft into electrical energy which is sent to the national
grid. The generator uses magnets rotated by the input shaft placed around a
coil to induce a current and generate the electricity. The speed of rotation of
the magnets within the generator is vital as high speed operation is necessary
to generate useful current within the coil; this is why a gearbox is necessary
earlier in the drive system. The generator in this case is of 5MW capacity.

Lubrication system

Due to the size of the main roller bearing and the load placed upon it a
separate lubrication system is required to ensure its continued operation. This
consists of a pump and oil cooler which cools the heated fluid once it has been
pumped around the bearing. Often offshore conditions require that it is also
possible to heat the lubricating fluid when external temperatures drop to
extreme lows. The same lubrication system is also services the turbine
gearbox.

Support Tower

The supporting tower of the wind turbine is the main structural component, and
must provide a stable base for the turbine to operate while supporting the
weight of the mechanism at the top. This tower is of steel design and width its
diameter is dependant upon the conditions in which it is placed. If wind and
tidal effects are especially powerful a larger diameter tower is required. The
hollow tower design allows access through the centre to the top of the tower
and provision can also be made for a service crane to aid repairs. The tower
terminates at the foundations of the turbine and stands double the blade

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length above the water. In this case it will be a 120m tall tower which also
extends 40m below water to the seabed.

Outer Casing

The outer casing of the turbine mechanism is used to isolate the machinery
from sea air, rain and also lightening strikes which can occur frequently to such
tall structures placed at sea. The casing is produced from high grade steel and
incorporates warning lights to alert passing vessels, it is painted in high quality
paint to reduce the risk of corrosion. The outer shell is essential in maintaining
the optimal climate in which the machinery inside operates.

Rotor Pitch Control

This allows the pitch of each blade to be individually altered depending on the
wind conditions detected by the turbine control unit. The adjustment takes
place at the base of the blades in the hub where a separate electro-mechanical
system is used to move the each blade. The purpose of the system is to allows
the rotor to be slowed in high wind speeds by reducing the efficiency of the
aerofoil and is also used to increase the efficiency in low wind speeds. It allows
turbine speed to be altered without the use of the internal braking mechanism
which creates energy losses.

Yaw Control System

This system controls the direction in which the turbine faces, the electronic
control system senses wind direction and adjusts the turbine yaw for optimal
energy production. Use of this system requires a large ball bearing placed
between the tower and turbine unit taking the axial load (weight of turbine),
allowing the entire turbine unit and blades to rotate. Movement of the unit is
electro- mechanically controlled using a geared motor and provision is made to
lock the direction in which the turbine faces. Provision is also made to prevent
the twisting of power cables running from the generator down into the tower
during movement of the turbine.