Dong Energy is supporting two PhD research studentships at Durham University that will focus on the operation of wind turbines and helping to predict technical faults before they happen.
The two PhD programmes are the outcome of a secondment by Durham University assistant professor Peter Matthews to Dong in Denmark.
The secondment revealed that wind turbine maintenance logs represent a good source of data that would support significant advances in machine learning for improving wind turbine operational efficiency and availability, Dong said.
The PhDs will bring together figures from turbine maintenance, supervisory control and data acquisition, with a view to developing algorithms for predicting turbine malfunction.
One of the students Roger Cox will focus on developing a method for analysing and categorising relevant maintenance issues.
The results will feed into the work of the second student – Luke Payne – who will look at developing advanced data methods to identify turbines that are developing faults before they become critical and have to be taken off line.
The research is expected to be completed in December 2020, with Dong funding 66% and the remaining 34% funded by Durham University.
The PhDs are through the Durham Energy Institute, where Dong has already funded the chair in renewable energy position and endowed three MSc scholarships for Durham University students each year since 2011.
Dong UK country manager Benji Sykes said: “Dong Energy is committed to investing in the UK and we’re delighted to be continuing our partnership with the Durham Energy Institute through these two PhDs, alongside our existing sponsorship of Masters students and wider support.”
The students will be supervised by Christopher Crabtree and Pete Matthews.
Image: (Left to right) Luke Payne, Christopher Crabtree, Pete Matthews and Roger Cox (Dong Energy)
Dong backs Durham boffins
Danes fund two PhDs focussed on predicting turbine faults before they happen
By EBS