Lifetime extension: methodology development and implementation for wind turbine drivetrains

As the number of onshore and offshore wind farms increases, there comes more and more turbines, which reach their end of designed service life. It is of great interest for operators to keep the turbine in operation beyond its service life provided meeting the safe operational requirements. While there are relatively well-established practices for life extension of structural members, the electro-mechanical and drivetrain system are often overlooked. The failure mechanism and damage rate of these components are different from that of structural members. This project aims at development of the specialised methodology, tools and models for lifetime extension of wind turbine drivetrain. This project will be accomplished through a collaboration between Wind & Marine Energy Systems and Structures at University of Strathclyde, UK and Marine Technology Department at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)