Wind turbines maintenance and reparation
Every technical system needs routine maintenance to ensure adequate service life. Highly complex systems such as wind turbines require regular inspection to guarantee trouble-free operation. A differentiation needs to be made between inspection, maintenance and repair. The inspection of a wind turbine requires a visual evaluation of the entire structure without any remedial work being performed. Such an inspection of a wind turbine can take approximately one day.
The maintenance of wind turbines takes place at predetermined intervals, usually once or twice a year whereby all important mechanical and electrical assemblies are checked. In addition, minor repairs can be performed and consumables such as greases, oils and filters can be exchanged. On average, this requires about 20 working hours.
More serious damage, above all to the rotor blades, is rectified during repairs. Depending on the extent and complexity of the damage, this can take up to a few days. While mechanical assemblies tend to be less prone to damage, areas such as the electrics, electronics, sensors and hydraulics require more frequent repair. However, such repairs normally result in little down-time and are relatively simple.
On the other hand, repairs for gearboxes, rotor blades or the generator are extremely complex. Spare parts are expensive and the repair work requires significantly longer down-times. Damage also occurs frequently to the tower’s foundation, flanges and the tower, above all in the form of corrosion. Damage to the rotor blades is usually the result of erosion and lightning strikes.
Sources:
Sicherer Betrieb durch Wartung und Instandhaltung (Bundesverband WindEnergie)