Under the brand name Q-Bo, the Fraunhofer Cluster Institutes of Excellence for Cognitive Internet Technologies (CCIT) in Hamburg Wind Energy has shown how screw connections, for example on rotors or wind turbine tower flanges, can be maintained efficiently without using large amounts of energy yourself For installation, commissioning and transportation. According to CCIT, maintenance cycles for onshore and offshore wind turbines can be designed in a more targeted and cost-effective manner. Q-Bo is designed as an intelligent screw-coupling technology intended to make wind turbine maintenance cycles smarter, efficient and cost-effective in many places – onshore and offshore.
How does this work? In the Q-Bo, each screw is equipped with a new type of washer, which uses what’s called a pressure-resistant Diaforce laminate and its own pressure sensors to measure the preload force that occurs when the screw is tightened at three points.
If the screw is loosened, a radio unit on the screw head sends this change to the next station.
Integrated Radio Module
If the screw is loosened or loosened, an integrated radio module on the screw head sends this change in resistance to the nearest base station. Hundreds of thousands of screws can be connected via just one base station using the Mioty wireless method developed at Fraunhofer IIS. Mioty Radio technology also enables robust and reliable data transmission thanks to a special cable splitting process. For example, the base station can be at the edge of a wind farm, that is, several hundred meters or even a few kilometers away.
Photo: Fraunhofer IIS
Q-Bo: Changes in preload strength are sent to the cloud.
Energy harvesting to achieve self-sufficiency
Researchers have solved the problem of energy requirements by relying on energy harvesting techniques. Temperature or sunlight is used to generate electricity. For Q-Bo, the thermoelectric generator generates electricity from small temperature differences between the sensor module interior and the surface. It will also be possible to generate electricity using solar cells. Energy harvesting makes the system power self-sufficient or complements and extends battery life,” explains Peter Spies of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. “In addition, we ensure data security and reliability via a special trigger box, which assigns an individual identifier to each Q-screw connection. Bo as well as more information on the requirements profile and exact position, so that maintenance personnel can really rely on the data.”
Temperature or sunlight is used to generate electricity.
Q-Bo technology can also be modified into existing systems. The Q-Bo is currently designed for standard DIN bolts. The system is ready for use in M18 bolts, and the M20 and M436 systems will also be available soon. Evaluation kits have already been delivered to the first companies that want to use Q-Bo to improve a variety of applications.
“Fraunhofer’s combined competence from various disciplines in this development makes it possible to integrate current requirements for greater sustainability into maintenance systems for sustainable energy such as wind power,” says Peter Spies. The system is in a state of a ready-made prototype for the product.
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