Helping to maintain wind power

When turbines go down due to maintenance issues or equipment failure, the expense of repair crews and crane day rates can send costs per kilowatt hour soaring, not to mention potentially long delays waiting for spare parts, which can further increase costs. Often operating in harsh conditions such as high winds and storms and in remote locations, HBM says its measurement technology helps to identify mechanical stress on wind turbine components at an early stage, subsequently minimising potential downtime.

In addition, professional software solutions from HBM nCode enable engineers to perform fatigue analysis during the design of wind energy facilities for optimal and safe dimensioning of all components.

Developed by HBM, nCodeDesignLifeT software is said to contribute to the optimal design of wind power plants from the development phase and determines the probable service life of critical components. During test and production phases, HBM force, strain and torque transducers, together with a large number of electrical and optical strain gauges, help ensure the quality and subsequent longevity of the components.