Preventive maintenance for Suomen Hyötytuuli

The Finnish wind energy company, Suomen Hyötytuuli, knows the value of investing in preventive maintenance, including vibration monitoring of turbines, which is why the company installed TCM^® in all of their wind turbines. 

Different conditions in Finland
Conditions for offshore wind power production in Finland are different from, e.g., the North Sea. The cold and icy conditions require special technical solutions. Offshore wind power production is expected to keep expanding due to ideal wind conditions and the possibility of building large-scale offshore wind farms.

Suomen Hyötytuuli will build 10 offshore wind turbines outside Tahkoluoto in Pori in 2017. The existing pilot offshore turbine is located in the middle of the new wind farm. The new offshore wind farm will also be connected to the TCM^® solution.

Siemens Gamesa will supply ten wind turbines for the new site, each with a capacity of 4.2 megawatts and a rotor diameter of 130 meters, and each installed with the TCM^® solution. Siemens Gamesa will also be responsible for servicing the wind turbines during the first two years. The Tahkoluoto Offshore wind farm will be operational from autumn 2017.

Using advanced data for fault identification
Suomen Hyötytuuli uses TCM^® Advanced Diagnostics in connection with their TCM^® Monitoring service. The company can analyze the health of wind turbine components and diagnose incoming alarms. TCM^® Advanced Diagnostics is a diagnostic tool that supports the daily operations and maintenance workflow, providing data mining and visualizations for analyzing vibration data. Based on the drivetrain model, built from kinematic data, fault signatures and indicators are easily identified using TCM^® Advanced Diagnostics.

Abnormal vibration activity identified in time
In September 2016, the TCM^® Advanced Diagnostics identified an abnormal vibration activity in the 2.3 MW Siemens offshore pilot turbine in Pori. Unexpected main bearing damage was noticed. Using TCM^® Advanced Diagnostics, the fault was diagnosed, and the severity and expected lifetime were assessed. Based on this, a recommended action was determined.

In this case, the recommendation was to verify the fault through visual inspection within a month, schedule the bearing repair within four months, and run curtailed until then.

“Vibration measurement is an important part of our preventive maintenance strategy. Now we are always up to date and can notice possible damage earlier. It was important for us to make the required curtailment procedures to keep the offshore pilot turbine running and avoid shutting it down. This has resulted in remarkable savings in time and money,” says Jaakko Kleemola, Technology Manager, Suomen Hyötytuuli.

The TCM^® solution has enabled Suomen Hyötytuuli to plan offshore turbine maintenance for the next summer season in a cost-efficient way and prevent further damage well in advance. Using TCM^® allows them to analyze the turbine's condition and, therefore, produce energy safely until the scheduled maintenance.