Digital Twinning of Modeling for Offshore Wind Turbine Drivetrain Monitoring: A Numerical Study

Failures in wind turbine drivetrain system including gearbox, bearings, and generator accounts for more than 60% of total wind turbine downtime. In this study, a mechanics-based digital twin technology is proposed to update drivetrain models parameters using measured data and predict the mechanics-based demand in drivetrain components. With the proposed mechanics-based digital twin, the alternations in the structural model parameters can be monitored and identified for damage diagnosis purposes. The proposed technology is implemented on a numerical torsional model of a wind turbine drivetrain system to update the drivetrain model using simulated data and predict the mechanics-based demand in drivetrain components. Implementation of this approach is used to update the failure models and estimate the remaining useful life of drivetrain components including gears and shafts.