Wind Farm O&M: Predictive vs. Preventative Maintenance

Maintenance practices on wind turbines are primarily either 'preventative' actions performed at routine intervals according the manufacturers specification or 'reactive' when a turbine's component is damaged causing the machine to shut down. New 'preventative' maintenance practices are now being developed, using high tech condition monitoring technologies, which aim to reduce the overall turbine O&M lifetime costs.

One of the most important aspects of a wind turbine is the reliability of its ‘critical’ components (gearbox, generator, blades etc.). These parts need to be properly conserved and maintained in order to achieve an optimum level of performance and reduced need for costly maintenance.

The standard time-based ‘preventative’ maintenance strategy used by most asset owners uses ‘schedule-based’ techniques and ‘threshold-based’ alarms. The problem with scheduling maintenance is that the intervals between inspections (typically every half year) are – in most cases – too far between to detect a problem at its early stage. Similarly the alerts activate too late to enable pre-emptive maintenance, and the maintenance subsequently turns ‘reactive’ rather than ‘preventative’.

See more at: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/first-conferences/news/article/2012/01/wind-farm-o-m-predictive-vs-preventative-maintenance