STTR Phase 1 Final Scientific/Technical Report U. S. Department of Energy Award No. DE-SC0017768
- eFormative Options, LLC, Vashon, WA (United States)
- California Polytechnic State Univ. (CalPoly), San Luis Obispo, CA (United States)
Purpose: Downtime, troubleshooting, and maintenance remain substantial components of wind energy costs, limiting locations where wind power can compete. Sophisticated remote monitoring systems can increase reliability; however, the investment commitments required prevent their widespread use with distributed wind (DW) turbines. Maintenance expenditures often reach 50% or more of total costs over small wind turbines’ 20-year lifetimes, and poorly operating equipment can erode overall consumer confidence in wind energy. In the 2016 Sustainable Manufacturing, Advanced Research & Technology (SMART) Wind Roadmap, industry leaders identified inexpensive predictive health monitoring as a top priority to increase competitiveness. Confirming the commercial readiness and establishing successful prototypes of such a system with U.S. manufacturers will enable a pathway to reduce DW’s levelized cost of energy (LCOE). The goal of this STTR Phase I DoE grant was to develop an inexpensive health monitor with a base material manufacturing production price targeted at $100, minimizing the number of sensors and subsystems, while monitoring the most critical components of the machine. Description of Research: Consultations with key industry players (OEMs, installers, operators, etc.) provided focused insight on the most important health monitoring needs of modern distributed wind turbine generators (DWTGs). A series of interviews and questionnaires identified overspeed events and rotor imbalance as the two of the highest priority problems affecting the industry in terms of maintenance costs. Combining vibration and speed sensing, and interpreting operational parameters, the prototype developed and tested in Phase I has the potential commercial ability to: provide preventative, remote warnings of unhealthy turbine behavior; minimize unscheduled maintenance and prevent expensive part failures through preemptive minor repairs; reduce LCOE and life-cycle costs, by decreasing inspection costs, customer service demands, and inventory; and reduce asset risk and manufacturing cost by comparing turbine behavior to historical data gathered over time. Findings: This system, developed in Phase I, accomplished this by focusing on a narrow set of goals. Using vibration spectrum recording as the primary measurement technique, it: 1) Validated the algorithms and methods (both designed in-house) for detecting trends, using approaches common in the gas turbine and reciprocating engines industry; 2) Demonstrated its capability through field tests at the Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center, set to operate both within expected parameters and with simulated defects. The prototype processed its data during normal operation to form a reference data repository that it used to infer anomalies, once the turbine was modified (illustrated in Figure 1 below); and 3) Reviewed business risks and manufacturers/operators acceptance and concerns to validate the feasibility of the concept, by keeping key industry players engaged in the development process and eliciting feedback on proposed changes. Two important examples of this: it helped identify that minimizing “false alarms” from the LifeLine was a key design criterion and it found a better-than-expected tolerance to different installation location on the machine and tower. Potential Applications of Research: Expected to streamline maintenance and provide feedback on field performance, this concept is embraced by leading manufacturers as a key cost-cutting measure needed to improve distributed wind American competitiveness. Additionally, based on the initial feedback obtained during the 2016 SMART Wind Roadmap, this device should be suitable for installation on a variety of commercial machines, should not require replaceable batteries, and leverage Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. An extensive commercialization plan was developed around the Windpower LifeLine including an aggressive but manageable continuing development schedule for the device that focuses primarily on 1) algorithm development and refinement; and 2) streamlining of the hardware to reduce cost and improve manufacturability in large quantities. The plan suggests that LifeLine will be commercially viable within the next two years, assuming Phase II SBIR support.
- Research Organization:
- eFormative Options, LLC, Vashon, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0017768
- OSTI ID:
- 1444364
- Type / Phase:
- STTR (Phase I)
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-EFO-17768; Control ID SBC_001037005
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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