wind turbine fire protection - nfpa
TRANSCRIPT
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 1
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Symposium on Fire Protection for a Changing WorldMunich 18 April 2016
Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry SeifertUniversity of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven
? ?
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 2
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Content:
• My background• Development of wind energy • Technology used today• Are proper Standards available?• Which are the risks concerning fire?• How can fire develop in wind turbines?• How can fire be prevented, detected, protected?• Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?• Conclusion, Recommendations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 3
Hochschule BremerhavenUniversity of
Applied Sciences
Wind energy research and education
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 4
Study Wind Energy at Bremerhaven
WETWET
MARMARBachelor Study Course: Maritime TechnologiesMaster Study Course: Wind Energy Techniques
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 5
Study Wind Energy at Bremerhaven
WETWET
MARMARBachelor Study Course: Maritime TechnologiesMaster Study Course: Wind Energy Techniques
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 6
Institute for Wind Energy
with the motto
„To understand the wind turbine as a whole“
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 7
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Content:
• My background• Development of wind energy • Technology used today• Are proper Standards available?• Which are the risks concerning fire?• How can fire develop in wind turbines?• How can fire be prevented, detected, protected?• Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?• Conclusion, Recommendations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 8
In the last 25 years the rotor diameter of a
serial produced wind turbine has been grown
by a factor of 5 the installed power has been grown by a factor of 20 in the same period
Wind energy is a fast growing industryin quantity and size
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 9
Development of size in Germany
Time
Rot
or D
iam
eter
, m
Airbus A 380
Ulm Cathedral
Largest serial turbine
Prototype
6 MW5 MW
3 MW1.5 MW
0.5 MW0.3 MW
0.05 MW
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 10
Status wind energy development in Germany
As of end of 2015
25 980 WT
41 652 MWinst
from those more than 3 295 MWinstOffshore*)
Source: BWE / Windguard 2016
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 11
Status wind energy world wide
Source: BWE, 2016
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 12
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Content:
• My background• Development of wind energy • Technology used today• Are proper Standards available?• Which are the risks concerning fire?• How can fire develop in wind turbines?• How can fire be prevented, detected, protected?• Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?• Conclusion, Recommendations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 13
The technology used today
Today’s wind turbines are characterized by:
• MegaWatt to Multi MegaWatt size• horizontal axis• upwind rotor with 3 blades• rotor blades in composite design• full span pitch control• variable speed operation• tip speed less than 80 m/s• grid connected operation• Direct drive, with gearbox or “multibrid”• Steel, concrete or hybrid towers• tripods, tripiles, jackets as offshore foundations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 14
The technology used today
furthermore:
• low noise operation• high efficiency of the components• high technical availability• low investment and low O&M*) costs• long entire life time (20 years) of all
components under extreme external conditions
*) O&M operation and maintenance
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 15
Hub
Rotor
Shaft
Gear
Generator
Tower
Nacelle
Today‘s wind turbine concepts
Foundation
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 16
Complex terrain
Flat terrain
Offshore
Typical sites where wind farms are located
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 17
Typical wind farms in complex terrain
flat terrain
offshore
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 18
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Content:
• My background• Development of wind energy • Technology used today• Are proper Standards available?• Which are the risks concerning fire?• How can fire develop in wind turbines?• How can fire be prevented, detected, protected?• Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?• Conclusion, Recommendations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 19
Are proper Standards concerning fire protection for wind turbines available?
Wind energy is an international business and fast growing world wide, especially off-shore
The development of the size and technology grows faster than the standardisation work
Only a relatively few number of wind turbines burned down up to now, the pressure on the industry and the authorities is not very high
HSE1 and fire protection are usually national affairs1 HSE health safety and environment
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 20
Statistics of failures
Source: IWES 2016
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 21
Harmonisation of Standards for fire protection in a new field of technology is difficult on national level
It is more difficult on an European level
It is nearly impossible on an international level
Many stakeholders must be involved!
Industry, authorities, associations, standardisation committees, certification bodies, unions, ................
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 22
Which Standards could be useful?
On an international level the IEC TC 88 is responsible for wind turbine design and operation: With reference to fire protection:
IEC 61400 - 1 Design requirements IEC 61400 - 24 Lightning protection for wind turbinesNew work item proposal under IEC TC 88: “Wind Turbines - Safety of the WTGs General principles for Design”
The International Electrotechnical Vocabulary IEV 415 (wind turbines)
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 23
Which Standards could be useful?
1 FprEN: Draft European Standard for formal vote
On European level the CENELEC is responsible for wind turbines E.g. for safety at work for on-shore wind turbines:
EN 50308 Wind turbines - Protective measures - Requirements for design, operation and maintenance; German version FprEN1 50308:2013
For off-shore wind farms no Standard is availible
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 24
Which Standards could be useful?
On national German level there are some recommendations available:
VdS Schadenverhütung GmbHPublication by the German Insures (GDV e.V.) on the issue of loss prevention
VdS 3522en: 2016-01 (01) Offshore Wind Powerhttp://vds.de/fileadmin/vds_publikationen/vds_3522en_web.pdf
VdS 3523en : 2008-07 (01) Wind turbines: Fire protection guidelinehttp://vds.de/fileadmin/vds_publikationen/vds_3523en_web.pdf
Deutscher Feuerwehrverband e. V. (DFV)Fachempfehlung Nr. 1 März 2008 Einsatzstrategien an Windenergieanlagenwww.dfv.org
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 25
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Content:
• My background• Development of wind energy • Technology used today• Are proper Standards available?• Which are the risks concerning fire?• How can fire develop in wind turbines?• How can fire be prevented, detected, protected?• Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?• Conclusion, Recommendations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 26
Which are the risks concerning fire?
Due to different sites, sizes and type of operation of wind turbines the answers are different:
In principle on- and off-shore wind farms need to be handled differently.
The size of the present serial-production on-shore is 2 to 3 MW, off-shore 5 MW. The rotor diameter as well as the hub height is more than 100 m.
Two types of operation has to be taken into account:Manned and unmanned operation.
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 27
Which are the risks concerning fire?
Sites:
Generally wind farms are erected far away from settlements due to noise and shadow flicker
Offshore wind farms are mostly far away from beaches and shipping lanes
No high risk for humans when the wind turbine is on fire?
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 28
Which are the risks concerning fire?
If the nacelle and the blades are on fire, burning and possibly harmful debris can be drifted by the wind.
On-shore there is a risk in the warmseasons with dry crop or woods around the wind turbine
Distance between turbine 5D to 7D
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 29
Which are the risks concerning fire?
If the nacelle and the blades are on fire, burning and possibly harmful debris can be drifted by the wind.
Off-shore there is a risk to pollute the water
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 30
Which are the risks concerning fire?
Sizes:
Generally wind turbines are high structures. The fire endangered nacelle is normally based on a tubular steel or concrete tower (chimney effect)
Ground based extinction is not possibledue to the height
Fire protection is absolutely necessary
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 31
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 32
Which are the risks concerning fire?
Type of operation:
The technical availability of today’s on-shore wind turbines is more than 97 per cent.
Most of the time the wind turbines run in unattended automatic operation.
The wind farms are monitored by remote supervision
Most of the time the wind turbine runs unmanned
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 33
Which are the risks concerning fire?
Manned Operation during erection, commissioning,maintenance and repair.
In the towerIn the blade
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 34
Which are the risks concerning fire?
Manned Operation:
Rescue from height must alwaysbe guaranteed.
Escape routes are long and vertical !!!
In the blades and in the hub only one exit is available
From the nacelle roping down is possible, needs time
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 35
Which are the risks concerning fire?
Manned Operation:
The risk for fire is high if the turbine is not under normal conditions, e.g. in case of failures or during erection and commissioning the electrical system
Automatic CO2 extinguishing systems shall not be used
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 36
Which are basic requirements for the staff?
• Adequate personal protective equipment PPE• Limited number of persons at the nacelle, hub,
rotor blade • Adequate escape routes• Safety equipment• Communication systems• Speak one language • Education• Repeated safety instruction
• Training, training, training, training, .....
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 37
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Content:
• My background• Development of wind energy • Technology used today• Are proper Standards available?• Which are the risks concerning fire?• How can fire develop in wind turbines?• How can fire be prevented, detected, protected?• Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?• Conclusion, Recommendations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 38
How can fire develop in wind turbines?
Sources of the fire on a wind turbine:
Lightning strokes: Wind turbines are exposed structures.
Overheating of components(bearings, gears, windings, .....)
Short circuits
Sabotage by opponents
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 39
Components of a wind turbine which can burn
Rotor blade: composite structures with resin
Gearbox: Grease, oil
Generator: Insulation material
Nacelle: Housing (GRP), cables, hydraulic oil
Inverter systems: Electronics, cables
Transformers: Oil, cables, insulation material
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 40
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Content:
• My background• Development of wind energy • Technology used today• Are proper Standards available?• Which are the risks concerning fire?• How can fire develop in wind turbines?• How can fire be prevented, detected, protected?• Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?• Conclusion, Recommendations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 41
How can fire be prevented, detected and protected?
Due to the unattended operation for along period the wind turbines must be monitored automatically by a huge amount of sensors:
Monitoring systems: e.g. CMS Systems
Data acquisition systems with automatic alarms
Camera monitoring
Regular inspection and maintenance
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 42
Example: Sensors of today‘s wind turbines
Power transducer
Rotor speed indicator
Wind vaneAnemometer
Blade pitch positionOil temperatures
Outside temperature Rotor azimuth positionNacelle position Accelerometer
Displacement transducer Strain gauges
Current transformer Temperature gaugesIcing sensor
Switches and contactorsPressure transducer
Lightning detectors
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 43
Example: IEC 61400 - 24 Lightning protection
Steel wire
Metal meshDown conductor
Down conductor
receptor
Ref.: IEC 61400-24
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 44
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Content:
• My background• Development of wind energy • Technology used today• Are proper Standards available?• Which are the risks concerning fire?• How can fire develop in wind turbines?• How can fire be prevented, detected, protected?• Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?• Conclusion, Recommendations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 45
Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?
Due to the unattended operation for along period the wind turbines must be monitored automatically by a huge amount of sensors:
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 46
Wind Turbine Fire Protection
Content:
• My background• Development of wind energy • Technology used today• Are proper Standards available?• Which are the risks concerning fire?• How can fire develop in wind turbines?• How can fire be prevented, detected, protected?• Which are the “wind energy specific challenges”?• Conclusion, Recommendations
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 47
Conclusion
Wind energy is a relatively young but fast growing branch. The development of Standards is far behind the wind turbine techniques.
The wind turbines have been grown in numbers and sizes very fast. Effort by the manufacturers is always laid on the development of the latest model.
The technology of the “old models” has been not improved. This is mostly true for the safety equipment.
The branch is not very sensitive for fire protection
© Prof. Dipl. - Ing. Henry Seifert, Hochschule Bremerhaven 18 April 2016 48
Recommendations
Bring stakeholders together for the development of international procedures and standards
Harmonised training of O&M staff has to be pushed
Safety equipment has to be harmonised
Install a data base for accidents and incidents
More research is necessary