2 rice - 2016 sandia blade workshop rca panel - ben rice

1. Blade RCA Processes and Inspection Methods
at Younger Sites
Ben Rice
Sandia 2016 Wind Turbine Blade Workshop
August, 2016

2. Pattern Energy Introduction
Current Operating Capacity: 3,300 MW
Number of Turbines: 1,550
Turbine Manufacturers in Fleet: Siemens (65%), Mitsubishi (10%), GE (25%)
Average Age of Sites: 3 years!

3. § Let’s Talk Hypothetical
§ Early Failures: RCAs During the Warranty Period
§ The Importance of Early Data Collection
§ Blade Inspections & Planning for Future Failures

4. Let’s Talk Hypothetical

5. Let’s Talk Hypothetical
• 2 year old site
• 100 turbines
• 3 year warranty
• Service contract with the original OEM
• Catastrophic blade failure on one turbine
Without knowing if the failure is systemic, what questions
do you ask?

6. Let’s Talk Hypothetical
Questions:
• Who acts as primary for the RCA?
• How will all parties interact for project management?
• What RCA and inspection methods will be used?
• Do you take all turbines down until more is known?
• Do you treat it as a one-off, or do you plan a full
inspection sweep of all turbines?
• Who is in charge of data collection and sharing amongst
parties?
• How will inspection, RCA, replacement, and lost energy
costs be distributed?

7. Early Failures: RCAs During the Warranty Period
New sites for smaller owner/operators come with
contractual complexities:
(1) Original OEM as service provider or 3rd party TSP
Who manages the RCA process?
(2) Warranty coverage for major components
What questions is each party/group trying to answer?

8. The Importance of Early Data Collection
Do you know the full history of your blades?
• Installation dates
• Model & serial numbers
• Past damages & repair history
• Past inspections (dates, results, follow ups)
Do you have reliable access to SCADA and MET data?
• Extreme wind conditions
• Vibration and load alarms & warnings
• Lightning strike data

9. The Importance of Early Data Collection

10. The Importance of Early Data Collection

11. Blade Inspections & Planning for Future Failures
Blade failures can happen without warning, but what are
you doing to monitor for symptoms of future failure?
• Tracking major weather patterns and events and
following up proactively with targeted inspections
• Periodic sampling of down-tower, on-blade, or drone
inspections - (visual, ultrasound, IR, etc.)
• Having a health categorization criteria for inspections
• Data repository for historical inspection results and
actions