Condition monitoring benefit for onshore wind turbines: sensitivity to operational parameters

Abstract

The economic case for condition monitoring (CM) applied to wind turbines is currently not well quantified and the factors involved are not fully understood. In order to make more informed decisions regarding whether deployment of CM for wind turbines is economically justified, a refined set of probabilistic models capturing the processes involved are presented. Sensitivity of the model outputs with respect to variables of interest are investigated within the bounds of published data and expert opinion. The results show that the levels of benefit are dependent on a variety of factors including wind profile, typical downtime duration and wind turbine sub-component replacement cost.