Open Access

A strain-based automated operational modal analysis algorithm is proposed to track the long-term dynamic behavior of a horizontal wind turbine under operational conditions. This algorithm is firstly validated by a scaled wind turbine model, and then it is applied to the dynamic strain responses recorded from a 5 MW wind turbine system. We observed variations in the fundamental frequency and 1f, 3f excitation frequencies due to the mass imbalance of the blades and aerodynamic excitation by the tower dam or tower wake. Inspection of the Campbell diagram revealed that the adverse resonance phenomenon and Sommerfeld effect causing excessive vibrations of the wind tower.

The Westend Bridge is located on the A100 Highway in Berlin. An integrated continuous dynamic monitoring system, composed of 20 velocity sensors, 5 temperature sensors, 3 strain gauges, 1 crack sensor and 2 inclination sensors, was implemented by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in 2000. The system runs continuously with occasional intermittence and led to a huge amount of data over a 14-year span. In this article, variations of the strain, crack and inclination measurements during the last 14 years are presented. It is noted that the observed crack and inclination of the bridge are strongly influenced by seasonal temperature variation. It further induces change in the relationship between the strains measured in both concrete and prestressed tendon. Application of k-means cluster Analysis technique in both the crack and strain measurements can partition them into different seasonal phases by identifying ‘turning points’ that indicate annual periodical bridge change. In the period of these two ‘turning points’, a strong linear relation of the strains in two materials is observed. In the rest of the year, a nonlinear relationship between the strains recorded in both the concrete and the prestressed tendon is noted. The possible reason is the additional thermal load due to the change in temperature difference between the bridge’s surface and soffit. Finally, a health index in a Framework of regression model and process control theory is proposed by investigating the linear relationship between the strains in concrete and prestressed tendon. The tendency of the health index in the 14 years may suggest the long-term bridge change during that time frame.

This paper describes the experimental calibration of an existing Wiegmann–Polonceau roof truss based on modal parameters. Dynamic tests allowed the determination of the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the global truss and of individual truss members. The global and local modal configurations as well as coupled vibration of truss members are discussed. In addition, as truss members are axially loaded, the effect of stress stiffening on the modal parameters is considered. Moreover, several finite element models with different modelling assumptions for the details of the connections and member geometrical characteristics such as gusset plates and turnbuckles were developed. A suitable numerical model was chosen to represent the truss structural behavior. This paper focuses on the local measurement and analysis strategies applied to single truss members. The possibility of using a local analysis method, namely methods that consider individual members as part of a structure, is demonstrated to assess the behavior of the global truss structure. The comparison of the results after calibration reveals a very good correlation between the experimentally identified and numerically estimated modal parameters of the historic truss.

In the context of national innovative project IMO-WIND, an integrated long term monitoring System was installed on a prototype of an offshore wind turbine System of 5 megawatt dass. The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) was responsible for development of the SHM System. It consists of a signal acquisition System and a Signal processing and management System. The signal acquisition System is composed of 14 acceleration sensors, 110 strain gauges and 4 inclination sensors, installed at the tripod foundation and the tower. It began to work in August 2007. In order to investigate the structural dynamic properties, extract efficient damage index and manage huge amounts of Vibration Signals and analysis results, an automated signal processing and management Software System is developed in LabVIEW® environment. It includes functions such as automated Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) on the basis of Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI) method and poly-reference Least-Squares Complex Frequency Domain (p-LSCF) approach, investigation of environmental/operational effects on structural dynamic properties under operational conditions, features extraction using Principal Component Regression (PCR) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) as well as data/result management and visualization. Besides, this paper also presents variations of structural modal parameters of a wind turbine system under complex environmental/operational conditions. Comparison of modal parameters automatically extracted by SSI method and poly-reference p-LSCF approach indicates that the latter method provides more stable modal identification results ffom the viewpoint of long term OMA. Subsequently, the influences of temperature, wind velocity, rotation speed and nacelle direction on modal parameters are generally discussed. Finally, variations of indentified modal parameters during two years are presented.