REMO: Online remote condition monitoring of tidal stream generators
Background
Due to the predictable nature of tides, tidal energy is an environmentally attractive renewable energy source. However, considerable investment costs and expected costs of lifetime maintenance in hostile marine environments have hindered large-scale implementation. Operational availability has been shown to be as low as 25 per cent. This availability needs to be increased substantially if tidal energy harvesting devices are to become commercially viable. Integrated condition monitoring (CM) can provide a reliable tool for assessing the real-time condition of critical components of tidal systems, enabling cost-effective maintenance based on prediction rather than correction.
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Objectives
REMO aimed to create a novel CM system to help reduce the projected lifecycle maintenance costs of tidal stream energy by half and the generator downtime to a level comparable with wind turbines. The key objective of the project was to create a system capable of remotely and permanently monitoring the entire frequency spectrum of structural vibrations generated by all the rotating components of a tidal stream turbine, by combining a suite of accelerometer and acoustic emission sensors for the low and high frequency regime respectively. Underwater trials at TWI’s diving tank facilities in Middlesbrough validated the system. The developed prototype, now at the demonstration stage, assesses the structural and mechanical integrity of tidal systems to provide advance warning of the presence of faults and impending failures.
Benefits
This project has shown that acoustic emission offers promising results and provides information about the damage level of the gearbox for tidal turbine gearbox monitoring.
Project Partners
- TWI
- WL3
- DEGIMA
- Coservices
- STIRLING DYNAMICS
- Eτ
- Brunel University London
For more information, please visit the REMO website.
Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project
Professor Tat-Hean Gan - Professional Qualifications CEng. IntPE (UK), Eur Ing BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronics Engg (Uni of Nottingham) MSc in Advanced Mechanical Engineering (University of Warwick) MBA in International Business (University of Birmingham) PhD in Engineering (University of Warwick) Languages English, Malaysian, Mandarin, Cantonese Professional Bodies Fellow of the British Institute of NDT Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology Tat-Hean Gan has 10 years of experience in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and Condition Monitoring of rotating machineries in various industries namely nuclear, renewable energy (eg Wind, Wave ad Tidal), Oil and Gas, Petrochemical, Construction and Infrastructure, Aerospace and Automotive. He is the Director of BIC, leading activities varying from Research and development to commercialisation in the areas of novel technique development, sensor applications, signal and image processing, numerical modelling and electronics hardware. His experience is also in Collaborative funding (EC FP7 and UK TSB), project management and technology commercialisation.
Related Research Group(s)
Brunel Innovation Centre - A world-class research and technology centre that sits between the knowledge base and industry.
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Project last modified 12/10/2023