It was a pleasure to welcome clients back to Balls Brothers in London as Electrical Engineer, Ben Adams hosted the second in a series of Renewable Power Seminars.
The evening was an opportunity for our Power and Energy team to reconnect with key clients and give an insight into how our experts approach investigations of failures in the power & energy industry.
The event began with Materials Expert, Stephen Rowbotham discussing ‘Condition Monitoring of Wind Turbine Gearboxes’. Stephen gave an overview of how wind turbine gearboxes work and touched on some of the issues within the operating environment that can cause failure, before explaining the different types of gearboxes. He included a review of some of the monitoring tools which can be used to prevent failures, concluding with ways to maintain optimal operation.
Ben then showcased his expertise on ‘Wind Turbine Generators’ comparing these to traditional generators and highlighting both the pros and cons. He closed with a detailed review of several types of wind turbine generators.
Electrical Engineer, Nick Wright and Materials Engineer, Jonathan Emm, delivered a joint presentation on ‘Wind Turbine Tower Failures’. This covered the different types of wind turbine towers, their construction and common failures, including blade failures, human error, and natural disasters. They ended their presentation with a review of recent case studies explaining how Hawkins investigate such failures.
Chartered Civil Engineer, Andrew Reeves, then rounded off the presentations by presenting a recent case study where a solar farm had been affected by storm damage. Andrew explained the difference between civil, structural and mechanical engineers, the type of investigations they undertake and how materials scientists can assist all three in certain investigations. Returning to the case study, he explained that the solar farm had been damaged by consecutive typhoons, and how our investigators identified issues at the site that contributed to the failure. Rainfall analysis revealed that the severity of the typhoons was within the range that should have been designed for, so providing insurers with repudiation and/or recovery options.
The presenters then opened the floor to any questions before inviting guest to a networking reception with the opportunity to spend time with the team.
We would like to thank everyone who attended and engaged with the presentations, and we look forward to seeing you at our next event. Full details of our upcoming events can be found here.
