Objective:
The main objective of this project is to optimize the maintenance and repair strategy of wind turbines, to evaluate maintenance technologies, develop computational models of repair and maintenance, and provide guidelines and recommendations for the efficient maintenance and repair of wind turbines.
The maintenance of wind turbines is quite expensive, taking in average up to 20-25% of the total levelised cost per kWh over the lifetime of a wind turbine. The high repair and maintenance costs reduce the efficiency and competitivity of wind energy. In order to optimize the technology and work flow of repair of wind turbine blades, a new research and development project Maintainergy, "Maintenance and Repair Strategies for Wind Energy Development” has been initiated.
The project involves collaboration between DTU Wind Energy and repair company Danish Blade Service, and six Indian partners, among them, two industrial repair companies, WindCare India, and Wish Energy Solutions, National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. National Aerospace Laboratories, with its unique composite repair technologies, developed initially for aerospace applications, will apply its know-how to improve the maintenance and repair technologies. DTU team and IIT Delhi partners will employ advanced computational and experimental methods, to optimize the repair technologies, scarf repair design and quality of adhesives. The service and maintenance companies, Danish Blade Service, WiSH Energy Solutions and WindCare India Ltd will validate the results and ensure their practical application.
Expected outcome:
The expected outcome of this project includes the evaluation of wind turbine maintenance and repair market, validation of blade protection and quick repair technology, develop recommendations and guidelines toward the improvement of maintenance and repair technologies, and efficient training materials and decision support for the repair and maintenance of wind turbines.
The project started October 1. 2020 and runs for three years.
Total project budget: 4.68 mio. DKK.