Hybrid bolt-loosening detection in wind turbine tower structures by vibration and impedance responses

In recent years, the wind energy has played an increasingly important role in national energy sector of many countries. To harvest more electric power, the wind turbine (WT) tower structure becomes physically larger, which may cause more risks during long-term operation. Associated with the great development of WT projects, the number of accidents related to large-scaled WT has also been increased. Therefore, a structural health monitoring (SHM) system for WT structures is needed to ensure their safety and serviceability during operational time. The objective of this study is to develop a hybrid damage detection method for WT tower structures by measuring vibration and impedance responses. To achieve the objective, the following approaches are implemented. Firstly, a hybrid damage detection scheme which combines vibration-based and impedance-based methods is proposed as a sequential process in three stages. Secondly, a series of vibration and impedance tests are conducted on a lab-scaled model of the WT structure in which a set of bolt-loosening cases is simulated for the segmental joints. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed hybrid damage detection method is experimentally evaluated via its performance during the damage detection process in the tested model.