Ice-Control project of Verbund has shown potential savings

Ice-Control project has shown potential savings

In the course of the research project „Ice-Control“ the wind farm Ellern, as a pilot plant, was equipped with an 

EOLOGIX-PING system. The research objective was the development of an icing forecast. The result: Potential savings of up to 50% downtimes are possible. 

 

A central parameter in the research was the rotor blade surface temperature. Therefore the EOLOGIX-PING ice detection system was the best choice. Other factors, that were ideal for meeting the requirements of the project were

• the direct measurement at the blade surface,
• rotor blade surface temperature measurement at each sensor
• and measuring the thickness of the ice at different levels (1-5).

 

Potential savings of up to 50% in downtimes

In 2016, VERBUND; initiated the research project „Ice Control“ with the aim of developing an icing forecast for wind power plants. The measuring of the temperature was a key factor in this project. The EOLOGIX-PING system measures the temperature directly on the rotor blade surface and was therefore the right partner for the project.

 

Prior to this, only a power curve based ice detection system was used. The temperature was a central measurement for the verification and operation of the rotor blade heating. Dr. Burchhart explains the decision for the EOLOGIX-PINGsolutions as follows: “There is no other system that can perform a combined measurement of surface temperatures and ice layer thickness on the rotor blade.”

 

The cooperation between EOLOGIX-PING and VERBUND started in 2015, as EOLOGIX-PING won the VERBUND start-up pitch. During the Ice-Control project three winter seasons have been evaluated. The result of the evaluation is a saving potential of downtimes between 30 and 50% in comparison to the actual operation mode of the wind turbine. This clearly proves the added value of meteorological icing forecast and the sensor solution from EOLOGIX-PING has great potential, which we will be further examined in the future, describes Dr. Burchhart the results of the 3-year study.

In the next step, the EOLOGIX-PING system will be compared with another system and installed on an additional wind turbine. The further research will focus on the ideal time for activating the blade heating based on real-time data acquisition. The results of this further research will be used as a basis for further decisions for further operational optimization and for future cold climate locations at VERBUND.

According to Dr. Burchhart, blade-based ice detection is inevitable. “Each company has to decide for itself whether to measure based on vibrations or directly on the rotor blade surface. However, it is nice that EOLOGIX-PING carries out a precise measurement and also measures the thickness of the ice layer accurately.”- this is how Dr. Burchhart describes the greatest benefit of the EOLOGIX-PING system, in addition to temperature measurement.