Future commercial turbines will be installed under the water for an expected 20 years or more, so advanced onboard system health and performance monitoring will be essential to make informed decisions about when certain components may fail, when the system should be serviced, and how to optimize its performance. The SNMREC is supporting a program to develop such a system and allow it to mature along with the devices that developers are building. A first generation system has been designed and is being tested to refine what sensors are needed, how they should be configured, and where they should be located. Specialized software is also being created to mine the collected sensor data to make assessments of whether certain conditions detected may result in failures. These triggers must be found, identified, and used to determine what priority that state indicates. Systems of this nature do not only involve the selection and interconnection of off-the-shelf sensors and data acquisition hardware. The SNMREC has developed a sophisticated and standardized data characterization, collection, and access system to accommodate the large bandwidth and storage needs of the monitoring system. This approach allows the safety health and alarm systems to be integrated closely with reliability and prognostics studies.

The first generation of the prognostics and reliability system will be tested and demonstrated onboard the SNMREC’s dynamometer and then fitted to the experimental turbine. This is a unique opportunity to develop theory, applied solutions, and collect field data specific to the application, and will continue to be an integrated program with the SNMREC’s technical development and support efforts. Any developers who wish to participate in this system’s development or request customization of a system for their turbines, please contact the SNMREC’s Program Manager.

Safety, Health, and Alarm System Data Sheet