Development, implementation, and testing of fault detection strategies on the National Wind Technology Center’s controls advanced research turbines

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Technology Center dedicates two 600 kW turbines for advanced control systems research. A fault detection system for both turbines has been developed, analyzed, and improved across years of experiments to protect the turbines as each new controller is tested. Analysis of field data and ongoing fault detection strategy improvements have resulted in a system of sensors, fault definitions, and detection strategies that have thus far been effective at protecting the turbines. In this paper, we document this fault detection system and provide field data illustrating its operation while detecting a range of failures. In some cases, we discuss the refinement process over time as fault detection strategies were improved. The purpose of this article is to share field experience obtained during the development and field testing of the existing fault detection system, and to offer a possible baseline for comparison with more advanced turbine fault detection controllers.