Overview
ISO 16079-1:2017 - Condition monitoring and diagnostics of wind turbines - Part 1: General guidelines - provides a structured, machine-specific framework for selecting and implementing condition monitoring, diagnostic and prognostic methods for wind power plant components. It defines terminology (descriptors, anomaly, ETTF, etc.), explains implementation challenges unique to wind turbines, and gives a methodology to prioritize which components and failure modes to monitor to achieve cost‑effective, reliable maintenance.
Key topics and requirements
- Scope and purpose: Guidelines to choose condition monitoring methods for failure mode detection, diagnostics and prognostics of wind turbine components. Not intended for safety systems.
- Terminology and descriptors: Defines key terms (alarm, anomaly, descriptor, failure mode, ETTF, RUL) to harmonize communication across manufacturers, operators and monitoring vendors.
- FMECA-driven prioritization: Uses FMECA (failure modes, effects and criticality analysis) to identify critical components, assign failure-mode priority factors and compute a monitoring priority number to focus monitoring resources.
- Diagnosis and prognosis basics: Emphasizes reliable alarms, estimated time to failure (ETTF), remaining useful life (RUL) concepts and the P–F interval for planning corrective action.
- Measurement and diagnostics considerations: Notes special challenges-nacelle access limitations, variable loading, structural self‑excitation, harsh environments and remote connectivity-that influence sensor choice and data quality.
- System reliability: Stresses detection of faulty monitoring equipment and robustness of descriptor measurements as prerequisites for trustworthy condition monitoring.
- Conservative, proven methods: Recommends well‑documented, time‑proven techniques; leaves out immature methods until validated.
Practical applications
ISO 16079-1 supports:
- Prioritizing which components (gearbox, bearings, generator, etc.) and failure modes should be monitored to optimize cost vs detection coverage.
- Defining descriptor types and alarm criteria used in condition monitoring systems.
- Integrating diagnostics and prognostics into maintenance planning (spare part logistics, crane scheduling, outage planning) using ETTF/RUL estimates.
- Improving asset performance and predictability of power production to reduce penalties and maintain investor confidence.
Who should use this standard
- Wind turbine OEMs and component manufacturers
- Wind farm operators and asset managers
- Condition monitoring system vendors and monitoring bodies
- Reliability engineers and maintenance planners
- Certification bodies and consultants evaluating CM system capabilities
Related standards
Keywords: condition monitoring, wind turbines, diagnostics, prognostics, FMECA, ETTF, P‑F interval, RUL, ISO 16079-1.
Open preview (PDF)Condition monitoring and diagnostics of wind turbines — Part 1: General guidelines
