Condition Monitoring: Prepping for an end-of-warranty inspection

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Excerpt: Over the 20 to 25 year design life of a wind turbine, only the first two are usually covered under warranty. As the end of the warranty period approaches, it’s common practice to give the turbine a thorough inspection, identify problems, and have the OEM repair them. The maintenance on most comple …

Met tower manufacturer expands into condition-monitoring

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Excerpt:  NRG Systems has expanded its products to wind-energy operations and maintenance segment. Its patented TurbinePhD system monitors the health of turbine components for more cost-effective operations and maintenance.   “Our system borrows technology from the aerospace industry to dia …

Dallas O&M Conference Recap

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Excerpt: I don't always get a chance to do much site seeing at these shows, but I did get to see a fair share of Dallas while here for Wind Energy Update's O&M Summit. On the way to my hotel, the taxi driver informed me that this was where Kennedy was shot (I know, but give me a break. It was before my t …

AWEA Seminar: Financing, Investment and My First Time in NY

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Excerpt: I spent four months in Ireland in college. The local girls there weren't so familiar with Ohio (they asked if it was close to where Paris Hilton lived), but they had been to New York. I'd traveled my way around Paris, London, Berlin and more, but I could not say the same. Four years later, I know I' …

Software provides early warning of impending equipment problems

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Excerpt: Proficy SmartSignal Shield 4.0, software for wind power and other industries, helps large equipment operators detect equipment problems early and avoid surprise equipment failure, thereby increasing productivity while minimizing costs. The software provides early warning of impending equipmen …

Alarm management and notification software earns certification

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Excerpt: A manufacturer of process control software has accepted the Award of OPC Certification for their TopView - OPC Alarm Management and Notification software. The company says the OPC Foundation performed a thorough certification test for TopView OPC concluding that it successfully demonstrated OPC exce …

Portable video borescope sports 3-m view tube

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Excerpt: Two articulating video borescopes feature two-way articulation (± 120°) with on-board (stand-alone) image processing and battery-powered operation. The $4,299 model TTSVS.6-1 has a braided, stainless steel, waterproof 1-m insertion tube with a 5.7-mm diameter. The tube is resistant to oil, fuel, a …

What can condition monitoring tell?

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Excerpt: Every monitoring situation has challenges, but keeping tabs on a wind turbine presents a special list, one that includes extreme and varying weather, frequent load changes, and often in remote unmanned locations. The mechanical stresses that variable winds place on turbines demand real-time monitori …

Improving condition monitoring

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Excerpt: Bachmann is increasing the efficiency of condition monitoring by integrating it into plant control. Condition-monitoring systems (CMS) allow increasing the availability and efficiency of wind turbines. Bachmann Monitoring combines signals from CMS-sensor unit with the operating status, leading t …

Mobile diagnostics monitor rotating machines as needed

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Excerpt: CBMvisionMD is a mobile diagnostic system that lets users monitor rotating machinery on an on-going basis. The system can collect data for hours, days, or months, as necessary to collect the required data and can be easily moved to another machine or site when the task is complete. Cloud-based t …