Prospect of Structural Health Monitoring Application for Offshore Wind Farm in Taiwan

For the recent surge of interests in Taiwan's offshore wind farm program, the government takes the initiatives promoting pilot wind farm projects and developing strategy for 600 wind turbines off Taiwan's west coast by 2030. Together with 450 land based turbines at the time, it anticipates a total power capacity of 4.2 GW. The announcement of this ambitious offshore energy program has stimulated significant interests among various industrial sectors, as well as academic and R&D institutions in Taiwan. The offshore wind turbines are exposed to extreme environmental conditions and high dynamic stresses. Incipient damage must be detected at the earliest stage possible in order to plan and take reasonable repair measures in due time. This can prevent the development of severe damage and thus lower the repair costs. Periodic inspections are not sufficient for an early detection of damage. Continuous monitoring ensures a higher level of safety. Wireless structural health monitoring (SHM) and risk-based reliability management (RRM) are cost-effective, infrastructural solutions to stable and increased energy yield. This paper presents an overview and prospect on the development of indigenous SHM/RRM for Taiwan offshore wind turbines to be erected in the coastal regions west of Taiwan. A strategic plan is discussed to use the demonstration wind turbines as a test platform for further technology enhancement for field applications, and to consolidate SHM/RRM into wind farm technology core R&D programs for academic research and industrial applications.