Blade RCA Processes and Inspection Methodsat Younger Sites

Ben RiceSandia 2016 Wind Turbine Blade WorkshopAugust, 2016

Pattern Energy Introduction

Current Operating Capacity: 3,300 MWNumber of Turbines: 1,550Turbine Manufacturers in Fleet: Siemens (65%), Mitsubishi (10%), GE (25%)Average Age of Sites: 3 years!

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

Let’s Talk Hypothetical

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?

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?

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?

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

The Importance of Early Data Collection

The Importance of Early Data Collection

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