Development of a new integrated approach for Structural health monitoring and lifecycle management of offshore wind turbine foundations and transition pieces. (Acronym: Pile-Monitor)

该项目的目的是开发并演示一种新型实时监测系统，利用超声导波检测海上风力涡轮机支撑结构在使用中的退化。该系统使用主动声波/超声波覆盖整个关注区域，以检测焊缝以及桩和过渡段的其他位置的疲劳裂纹。现有结构的疲劳性能是通过潜在的不具代表性的数据外推来估计的，因此在设计寿命结束之前存在开裂的可能性。整个结构中可能有超过1km的焊缝，潜在的开裂部位可能不容易预测，因此任何监测系统都必须能够对大量材料进行裂纹检测。该方法可以检测到大量材料中的裂缝，并有望节省大量的焊缝局部检查成本，特别是当这些焊缝在水下和/或泥浆线周围时。该项目将开发传感器、监测程序和电子设备的设计，并将在海上的一个结构上进行演示。

The aim of this project is to develop, and to demonstrate, a novel real-time monitoring system to detect in-service degradation in offshore wind turbine support structures using ultrasonic guided waves. This system uses active sonic/ultrasonic waves to cover the whole volume of concern to detect fatigue cracking at welds, and possibly at other locations, in the pile and transition piece. Fatigue performance of current structures is estimated by extrapolation from potentially unrepresentative data, so the possibility exists of cracking before the end of the design life. There may be over 1km of weld in the entire structure and potential sites of cracking may not be easily predicted, so that any monitoring system must be capable of crack detection over a large volume of material. The method will allow cracks to be detected across a large volume of material and is expected to save considerable costs of local examination of welds, especially when these are underwater and/or around the mud line. The project will develop designs of sensors, monitoring procedures and electronics and will be demonstrated on a structure offshore.