The analysis of tower and foundation integrity currently relies heavily on inspections (which may include destructive testing) or on the installation of additional sensors, such as strain gauges installed at the tower base. As the collection of SCADA data at high frequency (1Hz or above) becomes more popular, an attractive alternative becomes feasible - that of estimating the remaining fatigue life of the tower and foundation from proxies calculated remotely from available data. De-rating policies can then be employed for turbines that show lower than expected remaining life, whereas turbines with more than expected remaining life can be allowed to run beyond 20 years. The present work describes a method for estimating the remaining life of the tower and foundation, and how that can be used to inform wind farm operational policies using data that is readily available through SCADA.
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