Industrial Solutions of Infrared Thermal Imaging in Wind Power Plants

March 25, 2025
10:09 am

As a crucial pillar of the global energy transition, wind power is rapidly advancing. However, early wind turbines and substations often lack comprehensive temperature monitoring systems. Abnormal temperature rises in components such as brake discs, gearboxes, and cable joints are difficult to detect in time, increasing the risk of equipment failures and fire hazards. Additionally, traditional manual routine inspections are costly and inefficient, making it difficult to meet the maintenance demands of distributed wind power plant operations.

To address this industry pain point, infrared thermal imaging technology enables non-contact, real-time, and precise temperature monitoring, providing all-weather monitoring of wind turbines and high-voltage equipment in substations.

Without modifying existing electrical systems, this solution leverages an intelligent early warning platform to analyze temperature trends of key components, accurately identify anomalies, and issue remote warnings. This significantly reduces maintenance costs while enhancing equipment reliability. By establishing a comprehensive temperature monitoring system, thermal imaging technology not only improves wind power plant O&M efficiency but also lays the foundation for future unmanned intelligent management.

Application of Infrared Thermal Imaging in Wind Power Plants

1. Real-Time Monitoring of Wind Turbine Blades

Wind turbine blades are subject to multiple forces, including wind and centrifugal forces, over long-term operation, making them prone to structural defects such as surface cracks and delamination. However, existing monitoring methods primarily rely on manual inspections at high altitudes, UAV photography, or high-definition cameras, which can only detect external blade conditions and lack effective early warning for blade failures or fractures caused by abnormal temperature.

To enhance monitoring accuracy, an infrared camera can be installed on the wind speed sensor bracket outside the turbine nacelle to continuously capture real-time infrared images and temperature data of the blades, enabling remote monitoring. Maintenance personnel can also use handheld infrared thermal imaging devices for routine inspections, combining infrared data analysis software to accurately assess blade conditions, detect potential hazards early, and effectively reduce the risk of equipment failures.

2. Inspection of Main Contacts in Grid Connection Switchgear

Adhesion of the main contacts in wind turbine grid connection switchgear is a major cause of wind turbine fires. This risk is especially high in turbines that have been in operation for more than 10 years, as aging switchgear suffers from diminished arc-extinguishing capability and severe electrical corrosion of the main contacts.

To enhance safety, infrared thermal imaging cameras can be installed near the main contacts in the switchgear to continuously monitor temperature changes and collect thermal image data. If a contact’s temperature rises sharply or exceeds the normal threshold, the system triggers an alarm to provide an early warning of potential risks, effectively reducing the likelihood of fire incidents.

3. Detection of Main Shaft Brake Systems

During high-speed braking, the main shaft brake system of a wind turbine generates significant heat. Excessive temperatures can lead to turbine fires, yet most turbine designs currently lack temperature monitoring for brake systems, posing a substantial safety risk.

To mitigate this risk, infrared thermal imaging equipment can be installed near the main shaft brake to capture real-time temperature data. If temperatures exceed the warning threshold, the system triggers an alarm. For turbines equipped with automatic fire protection systems, this solution can also initiate fire-fighting measures, effectively preventing fire hazards and enhancing the operational safety and reliability of wind turbines.

4. Detection of Generator Housing

During long-term operation, wind turbine generators may experience abnormal heating due to excessive load, bearing wear, or poor heat dissipation, which can lead to equipment failures or even scrapping, resulting in economic losses and safety risks. Traditional contact-based thermocouple monitoring methods struggle to comprehensively cover the generator housing temperature, leading to missed detections while also posing challenges in wiring and maintenance.

To enhance monitoring efficiency, a thermal camera can be mounted on a pillar or bracket near the generator to ensure full coverage of the housing surface while maintaining a monitoring distance of at least 50cm. If the temperature exceeds a preset threshold, the system will automatically trigger an alarm and send notifications to the backend, alerting management personnel to investigate anomalies promptly and ensure stable equipment operation.

5. Detection of Gearbox and Bearing

The gearbox in a wind turbine system is responsible for increasing the rotational speed of the wind rotor and transmitting power to the generator, making it a critical mechanical component. The bearings inside the gearbox endure alternating loads and, after prolonged operation, may develop defects such as pitting, cracks, and surface spalling, potentially leading to gearbox failure and reduced power generation efficiency.

While optimizing materials and heat treatment can extend service life, long-term operation inevitably results in gear surface fatigue and bearing cracks. Therefore, establishing an effective monitoring mechanism is essential to ensuring stable wind turbine operation.

To achieve this, a thermal camera can be installed near the gearbox using a pillar or bracket to enable 24/7 real-time temperature monitoring. By integrating with backend networking software, the system analyzes temperature curves to accurately diagnose fault status. The system can be configured with alarm thresholds, automatically pushing alarms to the backend upon detecting abnormal temperatures while linking to an anomaly video preview for rapid analysis and troubleshooting. This enhances equipment reliability and operational safety.

6. Temperature Monitoring of Power Cable

Cable failures primarily occur at terminals and intermediate joints, with abnormal temperatures being a key indicator of cable operating status. Excessive heat can reduce power transmission efficiency and, in severe cases, cause cable melting or fire hazards.

To mitigate these risks, the TN220 Thermographic Cube Camera can be deployed at multiple monitoring points. Its compact design allows for installation in confined spaces, enabling real-time temperature monitoring of cables in ducts and trenches. The system supports multi-level high-temperature alarms, enabling timely warning of temperature anomalies and early notification of O&M personnel for fault inspection. This effectively reduces the risk of accidents and ensures the safe and stable operation of the power system.

7. Temperature Measurement of Offshore Wind Power Twist-resistant Cable

During wind turbine yaw movements, the main power cable twists accordingly. If the cable twist protection system fails, the main cable and fiber optics may sustain damage. Additionally, factors such as oil contamination, debris accumulation, outer layer aging on cable contacts, and restricted heat dissipation due to the twisted cable formation may lead to excessive temperatures, compromising cable safety.

To mitigate risks, a compact cube camera can be deployed to conduct 24/7 continuous temperature monitoring of key areas such as cable contacts and junctions of standard cables, providing real-time insights into the cable’s operating status. The system accurately identifies overheating risks and enables timely warning of temperature anomalies, preventing uncontrolled heat buildup that could lead to cable failures. This ensures the safety and stability of wind turbine power cables.

8. Wind Power Plant Substation Monitoring

The stable operation of electrical equipment in wind power substations is also crucial for wind power generation. However, traditional detection methods often rely on manual periodic inspections, which have many difficulties, such as untimely data collection, limited coverage, and susceptibility to human factors. This makes it difficult to comprehensively and accurately assess the health status of the equipment and even more challenging to effectively predict potential failure risks.

To overcome these limitations and improve the operation and maintenance efficiency and safety of wind farms, modern monitoring technologies have emerged. Infrared thermal imaging technology is one of the advanced methods widely used for condition monitoring of electrical equipment in wind power plant substations, enabling accurate identification of potential faults.

For transformers, thermal imaging can detect thermal anomalies in components such as the main body, oil conservator, bushings, coolers, and control circuits, preventing localized overheating from compromising operational safety. Lightning arresters can be monitored for overall or localized heating to ensure the reliability of the lightning protection system. Circuit breakers can be monitored for poor contact in external terminals, moving and stationary contacts, and intermediate contacts while also identifying partial discharge and current transformer faults. Reactors can be monitored for overheating in internal and external terminals, inter-turn short circuits, abnormal temperature rises in metal components, and excessive heating of post insulators. Additionally, thermal imaging can precisely identify overheating in isolating switch contacts, ensuring long-term stable operation of the equipment.

Through continuous temperature monitoring and intelligent early warning, this system effectively reduces equipment fault risks while enhancing wind power plant O&M efficiency and safety.

Advantages of Infrared Thermal Imaging

Infrared thermal imaging technology offers significant advantages in wind power equipment monitoring, including non-contact measurement, real-time monitoring, wide-area scanning, predictive maintenance, and enhanced safety.

Non-Contact Measurement: This technology enables non-contact temperature measurement by detecting infrared radiation from equipment surfaces, eliminating the need for shutdowns or disassembly, thereby improving inspection efficiency.
Real-Time Monitoring: Its real-time capabilities allow operators to visualize temperature distribution, quickly identify anomalies, and take immediate action to prevent equipment failure.
Wide-Area Scanning: This feature ensures comprehensive temperature data collection, accurately pinpointing local hotspots and abnormal areas to enhance monitoring precision.
Predictive Maintenance: It helps detect early signs of corrosion, cracks, and wear, extending equipment lifespan and reducing maintenance costs.
Enhanced Safety: The safety benefits of infrared thermal imaging minimize direct human contact with equipment, mitigating risks associated with high-speed rotating blades or complex environments.
Environmental and Health Safety: As it emits no electromagnetic radiation, the technology poses no harm to the environment or human health. These advantages make infrared thermal imaging an essential tool for wind power equipment O&M.

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Table of Contents

Industrial Solutions of Infrared Thermal Imaging in Wind Power Plants

Application of Infrared Thermal Imaging in Wind Power Plants

1. Real-Time Monitoring of Wind Turbine Blades