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Advanced Sensing, Software and Analytics
Blade Root CMS Condition Monitoring Services
A leading supermajor wind energy owner-operator in the United States embarked on a mission to get control of persistent blade root connection failures at one of its onshore wind farm featuring 2MW platforms.
Recognising the critical nature of the failure and the drain on precious internal resources of using existing temporary in-house techniques, the quest for a more scalable, long-term solution was paramount.
Blade root connection failures were becoming a significant threat to the operational efficiency, safety and financial performance of one of the owner-operator’s wind farms.
Existing measures gave some insight but failed to provide a adequate picture of asset health necessary for long-term management and were a drain on precious internal resources. The need for a permanent solution to reduce internal resource dependency and offer dependable insights to make long-term maintenance plans was clear.
ONYX Insight’s ecoPITCH blade root connection system was selected due to its record on similar wind farms suffering from the same failure and ONYX’s ability to work with the client to integrate into the required IT infrastructure.
The system incorporates the ecoPITCH data acquisition unit and the fleetMONITOR wind turbine condition monitoring software, combining to identify failures up to 12 months in advance, tracking progression along the way
The introduction of this proven technology marked a paradigm shift in the detection and management of blade root connection issues at the wind farm. Initial findings from the system immediately identified that a significant portion of the turbines – between 10 and 20% – required rapid intervention.
Leading the client to de-energise a number of wind turbines pending fixes, safeguarding their performance and integrity. The initial period of identifying already progressed blade root failures laid the groundwork for a predictive maintenance strategy ready to intercept and address new or escalating faults moving forward, ensuring the wind farm’s integrity and performance for many years to come.
Blade Root Failures Demand Attention
The observed 20% failure rate underscores the critical need for owner-operators to prioritise and address these persistent failures proactively.
Control Within Reach Through Tech
With rapid issue detection and having been installed on over 3000 blades, ecoPITCH is a ready-made solution for owner-operators to manage blade root failures.
Rapid Returns on Predictive Maintenance
Investing in predictive maintenance is not just prudent—given the high costs of blade failure and the significant failure rates, it offers rapid financial returns.
Find out how predictive monitoring can spot issues 12 months in advance — and save you hundreds of thousands per blade.