Revision of the condition based monitoring techniques of the pitch bearings from wind turbines

Abstract

The continuous increase of energetic consumption worldwide

has been a necessity for the development of human society,

which is cover historically with fossil fuels. The use and

negative contribution of fossil fuels to the planet have been

evident with the climate change phenomenon. This has caused

the awareness of society and institutions, which understand

the unfeasibility of the electricity generation by conventional

means (fossil fuels) in the medium and long term. For this

reason, sustainable and efficient energy sources are becoming

a fundamental objective at present. Wind power is one of

these options since it has economically viable costs. A large

part of the costs associated with offshore wind turbines is the

operation and maintenance activities, which can be improved.

A strategy is the monitoring of the condition, which allows

extending the useful life of the components of the wind

turbine. Within the components present in a wind turbine, the

pitch bearings are one of the critical elements because of their

frequent failure, along with the time and logistics involved in

their replacement. These issues encourage the realization of the

present revision of the techniques used in condition monitoring.

The identification of these topics allows the visualization and

proposition of future lines of research.