Wind turbine fault detection based on the transformer model using SCADA data

Abstract

The growth of installed wind power worldwide and its significant contribution to the energy market is mainly due to the evolution of wind turbines (WTs) and their ability to withstand a wide range of dynamic loads. WT failures can be costly and lead to extended downtime. Early detection of such failures is critical in reducing the costs associated with operation and maintenance (O&M) tasks and unscheduled shutdowns of WTs. This paper applies two Deep Learning (DL) models based on the Transformer model to predict failures in the IGBT module of WTs at an onshore wind farm in Ecuador. To this end, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) operational and alarm data are used, together with the maintenance record (MR). These data are analyzed and processed, applying different feature selection methods. The results show that the two proposed models perform well, with high accuracy and an approximate prediction of 4.25 months before failure occurrence. The results are promising due to the possibility of using SCADA data for early and accurate identification of faults in different components of WTs.