Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Wind turbines are designed to operate according to an estimated profile of the environmental conditions of a given site. The IEC 64100-1 standard defines wind turbine classes according to these conditions. During the design, the manufacturers make the dimensioning of this equipment according to each class. The expected life of the wind turbines when they are designed is nominally 20 years. Today, the average age of wind turbines in Quebec is about 10 years. The high costs of acquisition, installation and unavailability drive wind farm operators to question the optimal maintenance policy to adopt. As a result, the development of decision support tools to establish an economically justified choice (e.g., repair or replacement) while minimizing the risk associated with operating such equipment. Thus, the precise estimate of the residual reliability of this type of equipment becomes a strategic issue for the fleet operators.This project implements multi-disciplinary work encompassing various areas such as fracture mechanics, reliability, prognosis and learning. In addition to operational data already available, we plan to instrument three wind turbines. With the usual sensors (e.g. vibration, temperature ...) and the installation of strain gauges at the connection between the blades and the hub (maximum stress point), it's expected to capture the actual profile of the mechanical stress induced by the wind. . This captured profile will be extrapolated to simulate a plausible life profile for a given site. Knowledge of the terrain topography will extrapolate the profile to similar sites. Fatigue will be studied primarily as the main mode of failure. The projected works will contribute to better knowing the nature and the amplitudes of the mechanical stresses on the structure, which will allow a more precise computation of the residual lifespan, and to establish precise predictions.