Is the Lack of Insurance for Your Endurance Wind Turbine Causing you Concern?
November 22, 2021
As turbine owners ourselves, we are very aware that insurance availability for Endurance E-series turbines is very limited.
Unfortunately, this is a reflection of the many faults that the E-series turbines have, making them prone to some serious failures.
Condition Monitoring and Non-Destructive Testing for Endurance Wind Turbines
To mitigate these risks, DC21 is encouraging owners to consider the installation of a Condition Monitoring System (CMS) and selective use of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT). Whilst there are costs associated with both services, they have the potential to save tens of thousands of pounds by reducing repair and replacement costs.
Machine-Health Assessment System (M-HAS)
For the last 18 months, DC21 has been working with Turner ICENI to help develop their Machine-Health Assessment System (M-HAS), installing it on several of our Endurance turbines.
The system has now matured sufficiently that we highly recommend it to all our customers. As it is no longer possible to get insurance cover on the E-3120 turbines, installing the M-HAS system can help to manage the risk of failures.
Reducing the Risk of Turbine Failure
M-HAS reduces the risk of a catastrophic failure by alerting Turner ICENI and DC21 to any developing problems on the turbine detected by the system. For example, the system has, on several occasions, detected an impending low speed shaft failure, thus preventing loss of the rotor and blades and avoiding far more expensive repair costs.
You can find the full M-HAS brochure from Turner ICENI here.
M-HAS is provided by DC21 on a 5-year lease. If you would like to arrange an installation of M-HAS, please, contact us for a quote.
Determine Potential Faults on E-3120 Turbines
NDT is a set of methods used to determine potential faults with the Endurance E-3120, such as cracks developing in shafts, bedplates, hubs, and foundation bolts. The testing allows for corrective measures to be taken before catastrophic failure.
Often, NDT is used to further investigate potential issues identified by the M-HAS system and has been used on the E-3120 turbines for many years, even prior to Endurance’s bankruptcy. This service was, historically, provided by Duncan Chadwick of Testsure Technology and is now provided by Turner ICENI.
Testing Endurance Turbines
Due to finite resources, testing was limited mainly to turbines with the high-risk R13 and R14 low speed shafts. As Turner ICENI, with its larger pool of resources, has now taken over NDT services from Testsure, this means DC21 can offer testing of turbines on a greater scale than before.
There are 5 main areas that NDT can help to manage:
| Component | Fault |
|---|---|
| Low speed shaft failure | Detect cracks larger than 4mm, typically at the keyway or downwind bearing |
| Hub | Fatigue of welds and cracks not visible from the outside |
| Bedplate | Cracks and weld defects not visible to the naked eye |
| Foundation bolts | Cracks developing in bolts within the foundation |
| Blade holders | Weld defects and cracks not visible to the naked eye |
| Tower doorway and flanges | Cracks and weld defects not visible to the naked eye |
Pricing is calculated on a case-by-case basis.
To discuss condition monitoring and non-destructive testing in further detail, or for a quote, please contact us today.
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