Damage detection on the blade of an operating wind turbine via a single vibration sensor and statistical time series methods: Exploring the performance limits of robust methods

The study aims at damage detection on the blade of an operating Vestas V27 wind turbine via a single vibration response sensor under varying Environmental and Operating Conditions (EOCs), and through this, at exploring the performance limits of robust vibration-based Statistical Time Series type methods. Three trailing edge progressive, 15 cm, 30 cm, and 45 cm long, damage scenarios are examined using signals from a 104-day-long measurement campaign. The study is based on three robust methods: an Unsupervised Principal Component Analysis AutoRegressive model–based (U-PCA-AR) method, an Unsupervised Multiple Model AutoRegressive model–based (U-MM-AR) method, and an Unsupervised Principal Component Analysis Multiple Model AutoRegressive model–based (U-PCA-MM-AR) method. Comparisons with a nominal Unsupervised AutoRegressive model–based (U-AR) method and an 8-sensor–based method are also reported. The results of the study are based on a systematic and thorough assessment procedure using 7000 inspection experiments and confirm that single-sensor-based detection is indeed feasible via the aforementioned robust methods, with the best performance achieved by the U-PCA-MM-AR method which reaches up to 100% True Positive Rate at 4%, 1%, and 0% False Positive Rate for the 15, 30, and 45 cm damage scenarios, respectively. This performance is on par with that of the 8-sensor–based method and indicative of the high capabilities offered by the robust vibration-based Statistical Time Series type methods. The sensitivity of the methods with respect to the sensor location and the AutoRegressive model order is also examined.