|
|
|
|
News Releases |
Printable version (108KB)
New Monitoring Solution for Wind Turbines Launched |
|
For more information: Tannis Causey Marketing Communications Manager Bently Nevada 1631 Bently Parkway South Minden, Nevada, USA 89423 Phone: 775-215-2226 Fax: 775-215-2864 E-mail: tannis.causey@bently.com |
BARCELONA, SPAIN (May 25, 2004) – An innovative new solution for online
condition monitoring of wind turbines for both OEM’s and end-users was announced
today by GE Energy at Power-Gen Europe 2004. According to Richard Chapman, General Manager of Bently Nevada® Products, the new package has already logged over one year of operation on wind turbines and is intended for both factory installation on new turbines as well as field retrofits of existing turbines. Chapman points out that wind turbine monitoring is an excellent investment. “The justification to monitor these machines lies primarily in maintenance savings. These machines are often remotely located and access is restricted due to the machinery being located at the top of towers, so nobody looks at them regularly. Small problems – such as a bearing that needs to be replaced – go undetected and progress to large failures. A $5,000 bearing replacement can easily turn into a $250,000 ordeal involving cranes, service crews flown into remote sites, gearbox replacements, and generator rewinds – not to mention lost production. The use of information from the monitoring system will help manage such scenarios. A single ‘save’ can more than pay for a wind farm’s entire condition monitoring system.” Recognizing the above operational issues, insurers in Europe, where wind power is particularly well-established, are requiring overhaul of turbines after five years or 40,000 hours of operation unless the turbine is instrumented with a certified monitoring system. Insurer Allianz is leading these efforts and the Bently Nevada system has already received Allianz certification. Built on the proven Trendmaster® Pro hardware and System 1® software platforms, the system monitors vibration, temperature, and a variety of other machinery parameters indicative of mechanical health. Over 550 Trendmaster® systems are installed globally today. System sensors and signal processing algorithms have been adapted to meet the unique needs of wind turbines. Special acceleration enveloping algorithms have been introduced that allow earlier and more reliable detection of failures, particularly on the wind turbine gearboxes, an area of special concern. The system provides continuous, automatic monitoring in addition to critical diagnostic data when needed for quick root cause analysis. Remote access allows users to view all data and information from anywhere an appropriate network connection is available. Automated data analysis is also available which provides operators with real time intelligent advisories when a problem is detected. Additional information on Trendmaster Pro and the System 1 Wind Turbine Application Package can be found at www.bently.com. This news release is available for download at http://www.bently.com/news.htm and also available to be viewed at http://www.gepower.com. Bently Nevada products and services provide global leadership in assessing and ensuring the mechanical and thermodynamic health of industrial machinery. With operations in Minden, Nevada, and offices in the principal industrial centers of over 40 countries, the highly experienced Bently Nevada product team serves a broad base of more than 25,000 global customers in the power generation, petrochemical, and other industries. Bently Nevada is a GE Energy(www.gepower.com) business. About GE Energy GE Energy (www.gepower.com) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2003 revenues of nearly $18.5 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy provides equipment, service and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, transmission and distribution, distributed power and energy rental industries. |
|