Use of SCADA and CMS signals for failure detection and diagnosis of a wind turbine gearbox

This paper has summarised the typical principal failure modes of WT gearbox and relevant SCADA & CMS measurements for health monitoring. Starting with the basics of heat and temperature, it derives the relationship between temperature, efficiency, and power output or rotational speed based on the first law of thermodynamics. This then leads to a new algorithm based on SCADA oil and bearing temperature measurements to detect gearbox failures. The second case study focuses on extracting diagnostic information from both the enveloped amplitude and oil debris particle count against energy generated of WT. The results show that the analysis of SCADA signals using simple algorithms can give early warning of failures in gearboxes and that analysis of CMS signals can locate and diagnose failures with detailed information. It is suggested that in future WT monitoring systems both SCADA and CMS signals should be used to detect faults and schedule maintenance.