ABSTRACT
Condition monitoring (CM) allows early detection of any degeneration in system components, facilitating a proper asset management decision, improving availability, minimising downtime and maximising productivity. The adoption of cost-effective CM techniques plays a crucial role in minimising wind turbine (WT) operations and maintenance (O&M) costs for a competitive development of wind energy. As offshore WTs operate in remote locations and harsh environments, the need for high reliability and low O&M costs is higher than for onshore applications. For these reasons the development of reliable Condition Monitoring Systems (CMSs) for WTs is essential to avoid catastrophic failures and to minimise costly corrective maintenance.
