Renewable Energy 46 (2012) 169e178

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Condition monitoring of wind turbines: Techniques and methods

Fausto Pedro García Márquez a, *, Andrew Mark Tobias b, Jesús María Pinar Pérez a, Mayorkinos Papaelias b
a
Ingenium Research Group, Universidad Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
b
University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Wind Turbines (WT) are one of the fastest growing sources of power production in the world today and
Received 15 September 2011 there is a constant need to reduce the costs of operating and maintaining them. Condition monitoring
Accepted 3 March 2012 (CM) is a tool commonly employed for the early detection of faults/failures so as to minimise downtime
Available online 5 April 2012
and maximize productivity. This paper provides a review of the state-of-the-art in the CM of wind
turbines, describing the different maintenance strategies, CM techniques and methods, and highlighting
Keywords:
in a table the various combinations of these that have been reported in the literature. Future research
Fault detection and diagnosis
opportunities in fault diagnostics are identified using a qualitative fault tree analysis.
Condition monitoring
Maintenance management
Crown Copyright Ó 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Wind turbines

1. Introduction
Only time will tell whether the forecasts by WWEA [1] for
continuing growth in global wind power capacity [2] will be real-
ised as shown in Fig. 1. But to make wind power competitive with
other sources of energy, availability, reliability and the life of
turbines will all need to be improved. As the wind energy sector
grows, business economics will demand increasingly careful
management of costs. For a 20-year life, the operations and main-
tenance (O&M) costs of 750 kW turbines might account for about
25%e30% of the overall energy generation cost [3] or 75%e90% of
the investment costs [4].
Furthermore, one projection in 2002 was that the O&M costs for
2 MW turbines (which together with 2.5 and 3 MW turbines have
since become the workhorses of the wind power industry) “might
be 12% less than an equivalent project of 750 kW machines” [5]. But
new wind farms typically have higher capacity and comprise more
machines. The turbine data in Fig. 2 [6] suggest that larger turbines
fail more frequently and thus require more maintenance. Reducing
inspection and maintenance costs has thus become increasingly
important as wind turbine size and numbers have continued to rise.
Of course, some WT components fail earlier than expected
and, because unscheduled downtime can be so costly [7], condition
monitoring systems (CMS) are employed to “improve WT
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: Faustopedro.garcia@uclm.es (F.P. García Márquez),
a.m.tobias@bham.ac.uk (A.M. Tobias), jesusmaria.pinar@uclm.es (J.M. Pinar Pérez),
m.papaelias@bham.ac.uk (M. Papaelias).
availability and reduce the O&M costs” [8]. However there is
a degree of uncertainty about the appropriateness of applying
specific maintenance policies to WT components. This paper
discusses the applicability of various maintenance strategies to WT
condition monitoring, reviews the available techniques and
methods in the literature, and presents a fault tree analysis (FTA)
summarising the ways in which WTs can fail. The discussion
focuses on the three blade up-wind variable speed turbine with
double feed asynchronous generator which is the dominant type of
WT currently in use worldwide [9].
2. Wind turbines
Most WT machines are three-blade units comprising the major
components illustrated in Fig. 3 [10]. Driven by the wind, the blades
and rotor transmit energy via the main shaft through the gearbox to
the generator, the main shaft being supported by the bearings, and
the gearbox being such that the generator speed is as near as
possible to optimal for the generation of electricity. Alignment with
the direction of the wind is controlled by a yaw system and the
housing (or “nacelle”) is mounted at the top of a tower.
Some defects such as leaking and corrosion can be detected by
visual inspection; discolouration of component surfaces may indi-
cate slight temperature variations or deteriorating condition, and
the sound coming from the bearings can also indicate physical
condition [11,12]. However, many of the most typical failures like
cracking and roughness on the surfaces of the blades, electric short
circuits in the generator, and overheating of the gearbox all demand
a more sophisticated approach to maintenance.

0960-1481/$ e see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.renene.2012.03.003
170 F.P. García Márquez et al. / Renewable Energy 46 (2012) 169e178
Fig. 1. Wind Energy: Global Capacity (green) and Forecast (red) [1]. (For interpretation
of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web
version of this article.)
3. Maintenance theory
Maintenance is required to make sure that the components
continue to perform the functions for which they were designed.
The basic objectives of the maintenance activity are to deploy the
minimum resources required to ensure that components perform
their intended functions properly, to ensure system reliability and
to recover from breakdowns [13].
3.1. Corrective, scheduled and condition based maintenance
Classical theory sees maintenance as either corrective or
preventive. The former (also known as unscheduled or failure
based maintenance) is carried out when turbines break down and
when faults are detected or failures occur in any of the components.
Immediate refurbishment or replacement of parts may be neces-
sary [14] and unscheduled downtime will result. Corrective main-
tenance is therefore the most expensive of strategies and wind farm
operators will hope to resort to it as little as possible. The various
stages are shown in Fig. 4.
By contrast, the objective behind preventive maintenance (PM)
is to either repair or replace components before they fail as shown
in Fig. 5 [14]. This has most straightforwardly been achieved by
scheduled maintenance, also known as time based (or planned)
Fig. 2. Distribution of failure frequencies between different turbine types, sorted by
turbine size [6].
Fig. 3. Main parts of a turbine (Source: [11]) showing (1) blades, (2) rotor, (3) gearbox,
(4) generator, (5) bearings, (6) yaw system and (7) tower.
maintenance and involving repair or replacement at regular time
intervals as recommended by the supplier and regardless of
condition. Scheduled maintenance activities in WT include the
changing of oil and filters, and the tightening and torqueing of
bolts.
But reducing failures in this way comes at the cost of completing
maintenance tasks more frequently than absolutely necessary and
not exhausting the full life of the various components already in-
service. An alternative is to mitigate against major component
failure and system breakdown with condition based maintenance
(CBM) in which continuous monitoring and inspection techniques
are employed to detect incipient faults early, and to determine any
necessary maintenance tasks ahead of failure [15]. This involves
acquisition, processing, analysis and interpretation of data and
selection of optimal maintenance actions [16] and is achieved using
condition monitoring systems [17e19]. CBM has been shown to
minimise the costs of maintenance, improve operational safety, and
reduce the quantity and severity of in-service system failures. Byon
and Ding [20] have demonstrated its applicability to WTs, and
McMillan and Ault [21] have used Monte Carlo simulation to
evaluate its cost effectiveness when applied to WTs. CBM is now the
most widely employed strategy in the WT industry.
3.2. Reliability centred maintenance
The state-of-the-art way of deciding upon maintenance strategy
in the WT industry is reliability centred maintenance (RCM), which
has been formally defined as “a process used to determine what must
be done to ensure that any physical asset continues to do whatever its
users want it to do in its present operating context” [22]. It involves
maintaining system functions, identifying failure modes, priori-
tizing functions, identifying PM requirements and selecting the
most appropriate maintenance tasks [23] with the objective of
managing system failure risk e((ffectively [24]; operational and
maintenance policies are optimised such that the overall mainte-
nance task is reduced [14]. RCM has been recognized and accepted
in many industrial fields, such as steel plants [25], railway
networks [26] and [27], ship maintenance and other industries
[28]. RCM in the wind turbine industry is addressed by Andrawus
et al. [29].
Fig. 4. Stages of a corrective maintenance task.
 F.P. García Márquez et al. / Renewable Energy 46 (2012) 169e178
Fig. 5. Stages of a preventive maintenance task.
4. Condition monitoring of wind turbines
On the basis that a “significant change is indicative of a devel-
oping failure” [30], condition monitoring systems (CMS) [13]
comprise combinations of sensors and signal processing equip-
ment that provide continuous indications of component (and hence
wind turbine) condition based on techniques including vibration
analysis, acoustics, oil analysis, strain measurement and thermog-
raphy. On WTs they are used to monitor the status of critical
operating major components such as the blades, gearbox, gener-
ator, main bearings and tower. Monitoring may be on-line (and
hence provide instantaneous feedback of condition) or off-line
(data being collected at regular time intervals using measurement
systems that are not integrated with the equipment) [31].
With good data acquisition and appropriate signal processing,
faults can thus be detected while components are operational and
appropriate actions can be planned in time to prevent damage or
failure of components. Maintenance tasks can be planned and
scheduled more efficiently, resulting in increased reliability, avail-
ability, maintainability and safety (RAMS) whilst downtime,
maintenance and operational costs are reduced [8]. CM techniques
are thus used throughout the industry [32,33] and benefits are
“especially shown for offshore wind farm(s)” [34] because of not
only the high costs of O&M at sea but also the typically larger
turbines. Several techniques are available.
4.1. Vibration analysis
Vibration analysis continues to be “the most popular tech-
nology employed in WT, especially for rotating equipment” [35].
Different sensors are required for different frequencies: “position
transducers are used for the low-frequency range, velocity sensors
in the middle frequency area, accelerometers in the high frequency
range and spectral emitted energy sensors for very high frequen-
cies” [36].
As for applications, it is appropriate for monitoring the gearbox
[37e43], the bearings [11,12,44e46] and other selected WT
elements as listed in Table 1; the sensor configuration in a nacelle is
illustrated in [37]. Furthermore “Tandon and Nakra [47] presented
a detailed review of the different vibration and acoustic methods,
such as vibration measurements in the time and frequency
domains, sound measurements, the shock pulse method and the
acoustic emission technique, for CM of rolling bearings” [48].
4.2. Acoustic emission
Rapid release of strain energy takes place and elastic waves are
generated when the structure of a metal is altered, and this can be
analysed by acoustic emissions (AE). The primary sources of AE in
WTs are the generation and propagation of cracks, and the tech-
nique has been found [49e51] to detect some faults earlier than
others such as vibration analysis [52]. The measurement and
interpretation of AE parameters for fault detection in radially
loaded ball bearings has been demonstrated at different speed
ranges in [53]. In addition, the application of AE for the detection of
bearing failures has been presented in [54]. Acoustic monitoring
has some similarities with vibration monitoring but whereas
“vibration sensors are mounted on the component involved” [36]
so as to detect movement, acoustic sensors are attached with
171
flexible glue with low attenuation and record sound directly. AE
sensors have been used successfully not only in the monitoring of
bearings and gearboxes but also for damage detection in blades of
a WT as discussed in [55]. Its application is also possible to an in-
service WT for a real-time rotating blade [56,57]. Non-destructive
testing techniques using acoustic waves to improve the safety of
wind turbine blades are presented in [58], and to enable the
assessment of the damage criticality for blades of small WT based
on AE data in [59,60]. The use of AE is gradually growing for both
CM of rotating WT components as well as blades.
4.3. Ultrasonic testing techniques
Ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques are used extensively by the
wind energy industry for the structural evaluation of wind turbine
towers and blades. UT is generally employed for the detection and
qualitative assessment of surface and subsurface structural defects
[13,25,61]. Ultrasonic wave propagation characteristics allow esti-
mation of the location and type of defect detected, thus providing
a reliable method of determining the material properties of the
principal turbine components. Signal-processing algorithms
including time-frequency techniques and wavelet transforms can
be used to extract more information [62e65]. An ultrasound
technique to visualize the inner structure of wind turbine blades is
presented in [66], the deployment of UT techniques for inspection
of the whole multi-layered structure of the WT blade and to find
defects like delaminations, lack of glue, etc is illustrated in [67]; and
the ultrasonic air-coupled technique has been used to research
internal defects in wind turbine blades [68]. Ultrasonically-
obtained images make it possible to recognise the geometry of
defects and to estimate their approximate dimensions. Jasiuniene
et al. [69] adapted air-coupled ultrasonic technique for better
identification of the shape and size of defects in a WT blade. A
review of other methods can be found in [70].
4.4. Oil analysis
Whether for the ultimate purpose of guaranteeing oil quality or
the condition of the various moving parts, “oil analysis is mostly
executed off-line by taking samples” [35] despite on-line sensors
having (for years) been “available at an acceptable price level”
[35,36] for monitoring oil temperature, contamination and mois-
ture [71]. Little or no vibration may be evident while faults are
developing, but analysis of the oil can provide early warnings;
a case study of a WT gearbox is described in [72]. In the “case of
excessive filter pollution, oil contamination or change in compo-
nent properties, characterization of the particulates can give an
indication of excessive wear” [36]. Such approaches are particularly
effective and cost-efficient in avoiding catastrophic failures [73,74].
On-line oil analysis is gradually becoming more important with
several on-going pilot projects.
4.5. Strain measurement
Strain measurement using strain gauges can be very useful for
lifetime forecasting and protecting against high stress levels,
especially in the blades. An assessment of strain gauge signal
interpretation from strain gauge sensors installed on the blade
has been performed in order to adjust calibration practices and
sensor selection [75]. Optical fibre sensors are still very expensive
[35] but cost-effective systems based on fibre optics are being
developed. References [56,76,77] illustrate how load monitoring
can be performed using strain sensors in the rotor blades. Strain
measurement can be expected to grow in importance as an input
to CM.
172 F.P. García Márquez et al. / Renewable Energy 46 (2012) 169e178

Table 1
Condition monitoring techniques in WT, where. a: Statistical methods; b: Time domain analysis; c: Cepstrum analysis; d: Fast Fourier transformation(FFT); e: Amplitude
demodulation; f: Wavelet transformation; g: Hidden Markov models; h: Novel techniques.

Blades Rotor Gearbox Generator Bearings Tower

Vibration [56], a [134], f[135] c[37], c[108], a[113] d[10], d[32], a[37], c[38], b[39], d[10], a[37], c[38], a[44], d[11], d[10]
f[40], b[41], e[42] bef[43], eb[104], d[12] a[45], df[46], c[107], f[120],
c[107], f[119], f[125], fg[126,136], f[123], g[130], f[135], f[138], f[139]
c[106], c[137]
Acoustic emission [56], a[59,88,140], a[141], f[143] a[95], f[125] a[53], de[84], b[105,144], a[145]
a[55,57,58,60,142]
Ultrasonic techniques f[63,140], a[67e70]
Oil analysis b[72], a[95] [146] a[74]
Strain [56,75,88,147], c[77] [148]
Electrical effects [79,81] a[94] [80]
Shock Pulse methods de[84], a[82], f[19,83]
Process parameters a[87] a[86]
Performance monitoring [88] c[149] a[86], b[89] cd[149]
Radiographic inspections [69,91]
Thermography [93e95] h[87] h[87]
Other [95,150,151] [11,12,151]

4.6. Electrical effects
CM of electrical equipment such as motors, generators and
accumulators is typically performed using voltage and current
analysis. Discharge measurements are used for medium and high
voltage grids. A spectral analysis of the stator current [78] in the
generator can be used for detecting isolation faults in the cabling
without influencing WT operation.
Electrical resistance can also be used for the structural evaluation
of certain WT components. Electrical resistance varies with stiffness
and abrupt changes can be used to detect cracks, delaminations, and
fatigue. Hence, the technique can be applied to in-service WTs.
References [79e81] demonstrate how the resistance principle is
useful for detecting fatigue damage in particular. These techniques
are at the moment confined to research-related activities but there is
significant potential for applying them successfully in the field.
4.7. Shock pulse method (SPM)
The SPM has been used as a quantitative method for condition
monitoring of bearings, and works by detecting the mechanical
shocks that are generated “when a ball or roller in a bearing comes
in contact with a damaged area of raceway or with debris” [82].
Signals are picked up by transducers, and analysis - e.g. using
a normalized shock value [83]- gives an indication of system
condition [84]. Low frequency signals of vibration collected in the
nacelle and caused by other sources can easily be filtered elec-
tronically. A case study of SPM with a piezoelectric transducer is
described in [85]. The method is occasionally used by the industry
to support vibration measurements.
4.8. Process parameters
Maintenance based on process parameters and the detection of
signals exceeding predefined control limits is common practice in
WTs, control systems becoming increasingly sophisticated and
diagnostic capabilities ever better. Transient and oscillatory stability
were analysed with different wind scenarios for electricity genera-
tion process in [86]. For explanation of the use of signals and
trending for fault detection based on parameter estimation, see [87].
4.9. Performance monitoring
The relationship between parameters such as power, wind
speed, blade angle and rotor speed can also be used for an
assessment of WT condition and for the early detection of faults
[88]. Previous work includes power and voltage flicker analysis
with variable wind speed and turbulence [86]. “Similar to estima-
tion of process parameter(s), more sophisticated methods,
including trending, are not often used” [36]. The torque and power
generated with wind time series taken in the field from an
anemometer is considered in [89].
4.10. Radiographic inspection
Radiographic imaging of critical structural turbine components
using X-rays is only rarely used although it does provide useful
information regarding the structural condition of the component
being inspected. Radiographic imaging depends “on the different
level of absorption of X-ray photons as they pass through
a material” [70]. So as “to detect tight delaminations or cracks,
having gaps less than 50 mm, the backscatter X-ray imaging
technique” [70] is employed. X-Ray imaging is useful to locate the
internal defects of the WT, and the main advantage of X-ray
inspection is the accuracy of this technique [90]. A transportable
radiographic system for WT blades has been recently demon-
strated as “a solution to find defects and reduce the cost of
inspection” [91].
4.11. Thermography
Thermography is often used for monitoring electronic and
electric components and identifying failure [92]. The technique is
only applied off-line, and often involves visual interpretation of
hot spots that arise due to bad contact or a system fault. At
present the technique is not particularly well-established for on-
line CM, but cameras and diagnostic software that are suitable
for on-line process monitoring are starting to become available.
Infrared cameras have been used to visualize variations in blade
surface temperature [93e95] and can “effectively indicate cracks
as well as places threatened by damage” [96]. In the longer term,
this might be applicable to WT generators and power electronics
too.
Pulsed thermography can be employed for the structural eval-
uation of blades but due to the bulky equipment involved this is not
a standard methodology amongst wind turbine operators. Early
investigations of carrying out thermographic measurements of in-
service blades using helicopters to deploy the IR cameras has not
yet been proven satisfactorily and faces serious difficulties of
implementation.
 F.P. García Márquez et al. / Renewable Energy 46 (2012) 169e178
5. Sensory signals and signal processing methods
Regardless of the technique, the capability of a CMS relies upon
two basic elements: the number and type of sensors, and the
associated signal processing and simplification methods utilized to
extract important information from the various signals. An elec-
tronic measurement system will acquire the data, and then process
and distribute them to an observer or other technical control
system.
Data acquisition will involve measuring the required variables
(e.g. current, voltage, temperature, speed) and turning them into
electronic signals. To do so effectively will involve judicious choice
and placement of the right type and number of sensors; condi-
tioning (performing basic operations including amplification,
filtering, linearization, and finally modulation/demodulation) may
be necessary to reduce the susceptibility of the signals to inter-
ference. Optimization techniques may then be employed [97] in
the processing of the signals by a digital signal processor (DSP),
involving not only the processing itself but also sorting and
manipulation as necessary. Subsequent distribution will be to
either a screen, computer, storage device or other system. There
are several options, including e.g. Ethernet networks with TCP/IP
protocol together with WLAN for a WT for communicating with
either a Farm Server or a supervisory command and data acqui-
sition (SCADA) system. The latter is a particular computer-based
system that allows local and remote control of the functions
of a WT, gathering data from the wind farm and analysing them
in order to report operational performance, and hence ensure
efficient operation. SCADA uses various signal processing
methods, the most relevant to WT being those covered below and
in Table 1.
5.1. Statistical methods
One common application of statistical algorithms for the
purposes of CM is to analyse the data signals from the various
sensors in WTs. Common statistical measures such as root mean
square (RMS) and peak amplitude are widely used for the diagnosis
of failures but more advanced features are also being developed
[37,74,82,86,98,99]. Other important statistical parameters are the
maximum value, minimum value, mean, peak to peak, standard
deviation, shape factor, crest factor, impulse factor, definite integral,
energy ratio and kurtosis.
5.2. Trend analysis
When applied to WT, trend analysis refers to the concept of
collecting data from the various sensors and looking for trends. It
requires particular algorithms [37,100,101], and applications
include the monitoring of pitch mechanisms although most
common is its use on power output patterns from WT generators.
Note that trend estimation is a different technique specifically for
forecasting.
5.3. Filtering methods
Sometimes there are redundant data that contain information
that is not useful and must be eliminated so as to avoid compro-
mising the computations. For example, the vibrations from
a nacelle will have to be filtered whilst measuring the vibration of
the gearbox inside [84]. A method using least median squares that
filters in parallel with estimating the power curve is presented in
[102], and filtering with and without a classical statistical method
(based on standard deviation) is described and compared in [103].
The drawback of filtering whilst monitoring trends is that the
173
parameters have to be adjusted to take account of varying operating
conditions.
5.4. Time-domain analysis
Analysis in the time domain is a way of monitoring WT faults like
resistive and inductive imbalances between the rotor and the stator
phases, and turn-to-turn faults in the rotor windings of the gener-
ator. Variations in current signals and trends are typically used for
vibration analysis [39,41,104], oil analysis [72] and AE [105].
5.5. Cepstrum analysis
The power cepstrum is a time based approach defined as “the
inverse Fourier transform of the logarithmic power spectrum”
[106]. The cepstrum is well suited for applications to equipment
diagnostics in a WT. Gear vibration spectra commonly show side-
bands of meshing frequency and its harmonics arising from the
modulation of tooth meshing waveform [38,107]. For gearboxes in
good condition, the sideband level generally remains constant with
time. Therefore, changes in the number and amplitude of the
sidebands normally indicate deterioration. The presence of several
families of sidebands and other components can complicate the
distinction and evaluation of the sideband spacing [108].
5.6. Time synchronous averaging (TSA)
TSA, also called time domain averaging, is a signal processing
technique that serves as the basis for many gear fault detection
algorithms. The method is for identifying a rotating bearing defect
by measuring the vibration of a rotating bearing and obtaining
a waveform signal. It may also help in identifying the source of
vibration in WT gearboxes [109]. For instance, a cracked gear tooth
in a WT gearbox that meshes once per revolution produces a highly
periodic vibration signature which can be very weak. TSA can be
used to highlight the vibration signal features taking place over
a given period, and can work with non-periodic signal components,
filtering the noise of the time-domain signal. Once the average time
signal is achieved, it is possible to compute the FFT (as below). A
review of other TSA algorithms is presented in [110].
5.7. Fast-Fourier transform (FFT)
The FFT [111] algorithm is used for the conversion of a digital
signal from the time domain into one in the frequency domain.
Particular frequency ranges correspond to particular states
(e.g. fault-free, defective bearing), the ranges reflecting the rota-
tional speed of the main shaft and the shape and size of the element
concerned. All bearing elements generate vibration at specific
frequencies (referred to as fault frequencies) and hence FFT finds
most usage in gearbox monitoring [10,32]. FFT is also used for
bearings [10,11] wherein, if damage starts to develop, the shape of
the vibration distribution deviates from the nominal Gauss-shaped
curve [11,12]. “The advantage of frequency domain analysis over
time domain analysis is its ability to identify and isolate certain
frequency components of interest” [112].
5.8. Amplitude demodulation
This approach can extract very low-amplitude and low-frequency
periodic signals that might be masked by other higher energy
vibrations as in WT gearboxes [43,104]. While the raw spectrum can
be useful for monitoring gear mesh frequencies, the envelope spec-
trum provides superior sensitivity to bearing defect frequencies in
WT applications [84]. With its high sensitivity, demodulation has
174 F.P. García Márquez et al. / Renewable Energy 46 (2012) 169e178
been proven to be good for evaluating defects that produce impact-
ing, e.g. rolling contacts in bearings and tooth-to-tooth contacts in
the gear meshes [42]. It also helps to reduce the complexity of the
analysis, the main advantage being that it provides excellent visibility
of bearing defects frequencies without the interference of gear mesh
frequencies in the same spectrum. Despite the advantages for WT
gearboxes, some barriers to implementation remain. The selection of
transducer location is crucial to guarantee the results and, if the
demodulation process is based on low-pass filtering, the original
amplitude of the original defect signals is not preserved.
5.9. Order analysis
FFT is useful for studying oscillations in constant speed wind
energy converters (WEC) when applied to time series signals.
However, this algorithm is not suitable for variable speed WEC
where a different algorithm based on rotational angles is required,
i.e. so-called order analysis, particularly well-suited for rotor
imbalances and aerodynamic asymmetries [38]. Torsional oscilla-
tion of the nacelle generates a signal which is out of phase with any
transverse oscillations, so they can be separated and analysed
individually [113]. Interpolation and production of the order spec-
trum then leads to the computation of the FFT. Such analysis may be
used for monitoring the overall rotor condition including surface
roughness, mass imbalance and aerodynamic asymmetry.
5.10. Wavelet transforms
Wavelet transformation is a time-frequency technique similar
to short time Fourier transform (STFT) but more appropriate for
Fig. 6. Fault tree for WT.
non-stationary signals. It provides a time-frequency 3D map of
the signal being analysed in [114,115] and involves decomposing
it into a set of sub-signals or levels with different frequencies
[116,117]. It is applied to WTs in order to monitor the vibration
level caused by misalignment, bearing and other problems, and
can be used as a general sign or indication of a faulty WT.
Wavelet transforms have been applied to waveform data anal-
ysis in fault detection and diagnostics of various WT parts
including gears [118,119], bearings [120,121], and other
mechanical systems [122,123]. Assessment of the effectiveness
and reliability of wavelet transforms and comparison with other
vibration analysis techniques has been completed by Dalpiaz
and Rivola [124]. Baydar and Ball [125] successfully applied
wavelet transforms to vibration signals and acoustic signals
[40,43,126]. FFT (and indeed RMS) have also been used to esti-
mate the maximum amplitude of the wavelet coefficients which
helps in discriminating between normal and damaged compo-
nents [127].
5.11. Hidden Markov models
Hidden Markov models (HMM) have successfully been applied
to the classification of patterns in trend analysis [128] and CM
[126]. Atlas et al. developed a method to predict wear accurately
[129], when applying a method for monitoring of milling processes
with HMM. “Ocak and Loparo [130] presented the application of
HMM in bearing fault detection” [126], and the dynamic statistical
characteristics that exist in the current observations of vibration
signals in the machine have been modelled using HMM utilizing
a Markov chain.
 F.P. García Márquez et al. / Renewable Energy 46 (2012) 169e178 175

5.12. Novel techniques mathematical methods available and referenced in the literature.
The main obstacles facing the designers of condition monitoring
Fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) is a sophisticated adapta- systems for wind turbines clearly continue to be:
tion of CMS that incorporates ‘intelligent’ algorithms suitable for
early detection of incipient faults providing an insight into the i. selection of the number and type of sensors;
corresponding level of criticality [19]. FDD methods can be model- ii. selection of effective signal processing methods associated
based or non-model based depending upon the way process with the selected sensors; and
knowledge is incorporated within the signal processing unit; iii. design of an effective fusion model (i.e., the combination of
a more specific classification is shown in [38]. sensors and signal processing methods which give an
Artificial intelligence (AI) is essentially employed to reproduce improved performance);
human reasoning as accurately as possible, the reasoning process
being based on the behaviour of the system, and written down in
terms of rules. The dynamic nature of the environments in which Acknowledgement
WTs operate has led to the emergence of predictive maintenance
plans that take qualitative account of the environment as well as its This work has been supported by the European Project
actual effect on the condition of the components. “Development and Demonstration of a Novel Integrated Condition
Expert systems or so-called rule-based diagnostic systems Monitoring System for Wind Turbines” (NIMO, Ref.:FP7-ENERGY-
“detect and identify incipient faults in accordance with the rules 2008-TREN-1: 239462, www.nimoproject.eu).
representing the relation of each possible fault with the actual
monitored equipment condition” [131]. They have to fulfil two Acronyms
capabilities so as to be effective: the acquisition and integration of
new knowledge, and also the explanation of their reasoning [132].
AE acoustic emission
6. Fault tree analysis (FTA) AI artificial intelligence
CBM condition based maintenance
For detailed CM study, identification of potentially hazardous CM condition monitoring
events and an assessment of their consequences and frequency of CMS condition monitoring system
occurrence are necessary. One of the most popular approaches for FDD fault detection and diagnosis
this purpose is FTA [133], a so-called “fault tree” (FT) being a dia- FFT fast Fourier transform
grammatic way of describing the complete set of possible causes FT fault tree
that can lead to failure. FTA thus allows identifying and then FTA fault tree analysis
quantifying the initiating failure causes that will help set the stage HMM hidden Markov model
for developing a PM program fit to maintain system reliability at O&M operation and maintenance
the required level with particular attention given to aggressive PM preventive maintenance
environmental factors. The process involves two stages: selection of RMS root mean square
the various components that are to be considered for analysis, and RCM reliability centred maintenance
then assessment of how the component states affect the condition SCADA supervisory command and data acquisition
variables that will be measured by the CM system. Both are critical SPM shock pulse method
and have a significant impact on the accuracy of the model. TSA time synchronous averaging
Here, the FT reproduced in Fig. 6 was constructed starting with UT ultrasonic testing
the top event: wind turbine failure. For each of the same compo- WEC wind energy converter
nents as highlighted in Fig. 3 in turn, this was then successively WT wind turbine
broken down via the various possible intermediate failures using
AND and OR logic gates so as finally to yield the basic failure events
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