An advanced structural health monitoring IoT platform for offshore wind turbine blades

Abstract

Wind energy is renewable and is an essential ingredient in the move towards carbon neutrality and net zero emissions Compared with onshore wind turbines, offshore wind turbines generally experience higher wind speed, thus producing more electricity. However, the increasing dimensions of turbine blades and demands in economic requirements of wind turbines' life cycles, together with the harsh marine environment, including high winds, wave-induced vibrations, sea and rain corrosion and erosion, pose challenges for structural integrity, operational efficiency and maintenance cost. This paper presents a novel Internet of Things (IoT) platform for structural health monitoring (SHM) of the offshore wind turbine's key components, the wind turbine blades, taking the design and manufacturing of turbine blades into account. This research focuses on developing a comprehensive, real-time monitoring system that utilises advanced sensor networks and edge computing, empowering advanced predictive algorithms to strengthen in-time maintenance of turbine blades, improving operational efficiency and reducing maintenance cost.