InterBolt™ has been awarded a major contract to roll out its innovative technology on a large offshore wind farm in the UK. The intelligent bolting system will be used to monitor blade connections on a fleet of Siemens G4 turbines.
Once this roll out is complete, the technology will eliminate the need for periodic manual inspection of the blade connections. It will also predict and prevent the risk of a blade stud breaking – a common problem which can cause significant damage to the hub and lead to unplanned downtime.
The advantage of using the InterBolt™ system is that it provides real-time bolt load measurements to technicians during installation and long-term monitoring. Proof of bolt loads is guaranteed via a highly accurate miniature bolt load sensor embedded directly into either the bolt or the threaded stud itself.
The technology, InterBolt™ highlights, is the only commercially available wireless bolt load monitoring system for blade studs. High accuracy is ensured with the bolt load sensor which can be up to 97% accurate, alongside wireless communications which allow a range of up to 1km. The technology is also equipped with LED indicators and a 15 year battery solution.
"We are thrilled to be awarded a contract to install our technology on a Siemens G4 wind turbine fleet. Using our intelligent bolt load monitoring will prevent the problems caused by broken blade studs. It will also reduce unscheduled downtime and the health and safety risks associated with bolted connections,” says Jack Hughleigh, managing director, InterBolt™.
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