Operating wind turbines under icing conditions, ice detection, de-icing, and ice prevention were the topics of the Winter Wind Conference. The most important trend at the expert meeting in Skellefteå, Sweden, was that preventive measures (anti-icing) are increasingly replacing de-icing.
The conference offered a comprehensive program of lectures and discussions in two parallel forums, which was complemented by an exhibition of about 45 companies and institutes. The discussions made clear: The optimization of ice detection and de-icing systems (IPS = Ice Prevention Systems or Ice Protection Systems) is becoming increasingly important. While the focus has often been on de-icing in the past, preventive measures (anti-icing) are becoming increasingly important. One of the biggest challenges, however, remains the detection of almost ice-free conditions to control blade heating in a targeted manner, minimize production losses, and enable a secure automatic restart.
Bachmann Monitoring had its own stand at the event, where the company’s solutions were presented. The company highlighted its ability to combine load detection and ice detection. This integration allows synergy effects to be exploited, eliminating the need for separate subsystems, reducing system costs and simplifying installation and maintenance. According to the company, this is a unique feature of Bachmann.
CEO Holger Fritsch gave a presentation on the topic “Validation of cantilever sensors for ice detection on rotor blades.” Using examples from the cooperation with Nergica, a research institute in Canada, Fritsch showed how the combination of cantilever sensors (CLS) and advanced algorithms enables reliable detection of ice formation and ice-free conditions. In the future, this technology could be the basis for a more intelligent controller for blade heating, both for new wind turbines and in the retrofit area.
One of the highlights of the conference was the excursion to the nearby Önusberget wind farm, which is home to 137 GE Cypress 5.5-158 wind turbines and is part of the Markbygden Wind Cluster. At a freezing minus-15°C, the participants were given an insight into how this wind farm is operated in winter under harsh icing conditions using de-icing systems.
“At the conference, it became clear that the market can benefit from optimized solutions that not only reliably detect icing conditions, but also enable intelligent control of blade heaters,” said Marc Thomsen, product manager at Bachmann Monitoring. “Our CLS and our evaluation algorithms can be decisive components here.”
A study by the Weilburg Technology Academy (Germany) shows how important the topic of ice detection is for the efficiency of wind turbines: It found that up to 56 percent of potential energy production is lost due to a lack of automatic restarts.
MORE INFO www.bachmann.info/en
