LEDS grounding and lightning monitoring system

Conventional methods to ensure the health of the grounding system from blade to ground rely on periodic testing and maintenance by trained professionals, and stop the operation of wind turbine. In remotely installed structures, like offshore system, the periodic testing is even more expensive and logistically demanding. During all these testings, the status of grounding system between testing intervals remains unknown for the operator.
Currently we are developing LEDS™, a monitoring and real-time alarm system that ensures the correct operation of grounding circuitry in high-rise structures, such as wind turbines. It is based on the innovative method of using an electrostatic motor to monitor the health of the grounding system, shifting the periodic monitoring to a real-time monitoring of the health of the grounding system. 

Monitoring the health of ground system

Quantify the lightning strikes

Energy harvester for other system such as TripleCMAS

Innovative technology

LEDS is an electrostatic motor placed on the blades of wind turbine systems to monitor the health of the grounding system. The solution runs on electrostatic charges from the wind turbine.

One of a kind methodology

In the event of grounding system degradation, there can be higher charge accumulation leading to difference in speed of the electrostatic motor. By connecting the LEDS solution to the blades, they will be rotating using the energy of the wind turbine static charges.   The speed of the motor can be remotely monitored, without human intervention using Ventus tripleCMAS blade sensor technology, to identify the speed variations.

Machine learning Analysis

This collected data will be interpreted through advanced, state of the art machine learning (ML) algorithms, in LEDS, to assess the health, identify signatures of a degraded grounding system and instance of lightning strike.
 
The LEDS will provide continuous access to the information on grounding system health to stakeholders and under exigency situation alarms to the concerned party.

Alarm monitoring system

This methodology allows LEDS to continuously monitor grounding system without affecting the operation of the wind turbine. Thus, decreasing the downtime costs.