Discussion on condition monitoring these days almost inevitably seems to end up talking about wind turbines. In one easily identifiable installation, the wind turbine seems to encapsulate - perhaps a bit unfairly - the differences between design performance and actual performance that it is the job of testing and simulation to eliminate. Put crudely and as a mass generalisation, wind turbines often haven't been as reliable in operation as they should have been, or as expected. John Coultate, research team leader at the driveline design systems company Romax Technology, outlines a long list of "challenges" in terms of optimising the operation and maintenance aspects of the windpower industry. "There are unpredictable downtimes and faults," he says.
展开▼
