On Power-Up this week, LM Wind Power's method using thermal imaging to estimate power performance, ZF's system which allows the generator to be rotated independently from the gearbox, and a patent for a flame-throwing trumpet.

Fill out our Uptime listener survey and enter to win an Uptime mug! Register for Wind Energy O&M Australia! https://www.windaustralia.com

Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!

Pardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com

Phil Totaro: This is Power Up, where groundbreaking wind energy ideas become your clean energy future. Here's your hosts, Allen Hall and Phil Totaro.

Allen Hall: First up this week, Phil, is an idea from LM Wind Power, and this idea uses thermal imaging to turbine turbulence and then to use that data to predict the power calculations and energy production.

on an actual wind turbine blade. So this approach is thermal imaging can detect turbulence and losses on a blade. If you can use that data then in a calculation, in a predictive model, then you can pretty well estimate what the power output of a turbine would be. This is a really useful piece of information.

If you're trying to predict the outcome of a wind farm and what the power production will be like.

Phil Totaro: Yeah. And this is, this is not new in terms of utilizing, infrared technology. We've actually done this before in the industry, not only for, remote inspections and things like that.

But to apply this technology to an operational asset where you're using that output for modeling purposes is unique because what they're able to actually detect is changes in surface roughness. So when it comes to figuring out leading edge erosion and how much is that actually dinging your performance and your annual energy production, this comes in kind of handy.

But it's my understanding that, LM isn't the only company that's been investigating this, right?

Allen Hall: Yeah. There've been several efforts in the EU to do this. We've had some of them on the podcast. The technique is very fascinating, because you wouldn't think you could see turbulence with an infrared camera and, but you can.

And once you do that, then you can use the BEM method of calculating power production, which is how a lot of Blazer design is with the BEM method. The tools are all available. The missing link was just really determining how much turbulence there was on a blade. And this idea makes an infinite amount of sense if it can be put into production.

There's a lot of theoretical things we talk about on the podcast that are really hard to implement. This is going to be one of them. Getting some real thermal images off of blades is not the easiest thing in the world to do.

Phil Totaro: Yeah, but it makes for a valuable IP for a company like LM to own and there's a high degree of likelihood that this technology could be obviously leveraged by GE their parent organization, or even licensed to some of these other companies.

Our next

Allen Hall: idea is

Phil Totaro: from ZF Frederick

Allen Hall: Schaffen, AG, and it is a patent that presents an innovative design for maintaining wind turbine gearboxes with integrated generators. Now, the key innovation is a special gearing system that allows the generator rotor to be rotated independently from the gearbox output shaft during maintenance.

And this enables technicians to safely position and lock the rotor for service without having to completely remove the gearbox.