Cantilever Sensor
The most reliable blade load measurement on the market – high-tech performance through and through.
BEGINNING WITH THE BENEFITS
- Lasting reduction of operating and service costs: The use of Cantilever Sensor signals for individual pitch control enables blade load-optimized alignment between turbine design and operating strategy. This significantly reduces the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) in modern turbines.
- Significant sensor and system cost reduction: The Cantilever Sensor‘s simple and robust technology replaces complex and failure-prone sensors, sensitive cables and signal converters on both blade and hub.
- Reliable installation and easy commissioning: The cantilever sensor is quick, simple, and easy to install. The process is completely reliable without the need for sensitive fine tuning.
- Operate your plant without any surprises or unnecessary downtime: Thanks to its simple and robust design, the Cantilever Sensor provides an extremely high-quality, stable signal, which reports the smallest changes clearly and reliably.
- Blade load signals form the basis of Bachmann’s intelligent algorithms. These can be used to identify rotor blade icing so that, if necessary, affected plants can be temporarily shut down. This not only prevents the risk of ice being scattered by the turbine, but the wind turbine can also be re-started again swiftly as soon as the ice has melted, without the need for manual inspections as are otherwise usually required.
This minimizes downtime caused by ice – and the associated production outages – which also has a positive effect on the LCoE.
- Structural changes and damage can occur on the exposed and extremely expensive wind turbine rotor blades during operation. These issues can, in turn, result in plant failure and downtime.
Cantilever Sensors help to solve these problems by detecting structural anomalies at an early stage, allowing them to be rectified as part of condition-based maintenance before expensive, subsequent damage occurs.
Sometimes, it’s the simple things that are most impressive.
The Bachmann Cantilever Sensor – simple, robust, reliable.
Simple: Using a robust, industry-standard distance sensor, the Cantilever Sensor converts strain measurement into a stable, fault-resistant distance measurement. For example, the measurement signal must not first be transformed from an optical to an electrical signal – a process that is often prone to faults.
Robust: Thanks to its measurement principle, the Cantilever Sensor features a robust design and is easy to install. It also facilitates a very long service and operational life with little maintenance necessary.
Reliable: Despite its very robust design, the Cantilever Sensor acquires extremely accurate and reliable data.
Measurement Principle
The Cantilever Sensor (CLS) measures strain and generates an output signal comparable with an electric strain gauge or fiber-optic strain sensor.
However, due to the principle of inductive displacement measurement, the CLS is not subject to any mechanical deformation.
- The measurement principle guarantees the sensor’s long-term stability.
- The longer reference distance minimizes the influence of local inconsistencies typical of rotor blade composite materials.
- Installation is simple and easy to duplicate.
Detection Function in the Rotor Blade
The Cantilever Sensor can be used in a wide range of applications. For example, the sensor can provide real-time information on blade loads. This makes it ideal for loadcontrol purposes, such as IPC (individual pitch control).
The signal is recorded continuously, meaning that the remaining service life can be estimated for each specific plant. The operating and maintenance strategy of entire wind parks can thereby be optimized for the long term, ensuring the highest possible yield. Furthermore, loads on individual blades can be compared, enabling problems such as pitch errors or blade damage to be identified at an early stage. Any necessary corrections and maintenance measures can then be initiated based on this information.
The response time and sensitivity of the Cantilever Sensor enable the easy detection of structural vibrations. Through this detection function and related analysis, any blade icing (Ice Detection) and structural changes (Anomaly Detection) in the rotor blades can be monitored and assessed.
Integration in the System Architecture (Installation)
Installation and commissioning are extremely simple and can be fully integrated in standardized production and commissioning processes. Trained, qualified personnel can carry out all the required steps quickly and efficiently as no specialist knowledge, special tools, or measuring equipment are required.
There are two installation methods to ensure a simple mounting process.
Standard Installation
Image 1. Direct installation with mounting aid
Image 2. Removal of the mounting aid
2-Stage Installation
Image 1. Pre-installation of the mounting base
Image 2. Removal of the mounting aid
Image 3. Attachment of the CLS onto mounting base
Application Areas
The Cantilever Sensor is primarily designed to detect blade loads for control purposes, among other things. It has already demonstrated its value in numerous projects, where it has proven easy to handle and reliable during operation.
What’s more, the Cantilever Sensor can also be used to detect ice. Using intelligent algorithms, the highly precise strain signal enables Bachmann tracking and analysis tools to accurately estimate whether or not the rotor blade has developed an ice layer.
This versatile solution can also be used to monitor entire structures – from rotor blades to towers. As a result, Bachmann is able to cover the three main areas of application in a modern wind turbine with just one smart sensor.
Cantilever Sensor
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