Design structure matrix (DSM) method application to issue of modeling and analyzing the fault tree of a wind energy asset

The perpetual energy production of a wind farm could be accomplished (under proper weather conditions) if no failures occurred. But even the best possible design, manufacturing, and maintenance of a system cannot eliminate the failure possibility. In order to understand and minimize the system failures, the most crucial components of the wind turbines, which are prone to failures, should be identified. Moreover, it is essential to determine and classify the criticality of the system failures according to the impact of these failure events on wind turbine safety. The present study is processing the failure data from a wind farm and uses the Fault Tree Analysis as a baseline for applying the Design Structure Matrix technique to reveal the failure and risk interactions between wind turbine subsystems. Based on the analysis performed and by introducing new importance measures, the “readiness to fail” of a subsystem in conjunction with the “failure riskiness” can determine the “failure criticality.” The value of the failure criticality can define the frame within which interventions could be done. The arising interventions could be applied either to the whole system or could be focused in specified pairs of wind turbine subsystems. In conclusion, the method analyzed in the present research can be effectively applied by the wind turbine manufacturers and the wind farm operators as an operation framework, which can lead to a limited (as possible) design‐out maintenance cost, failures' minimization, and safety maximization for the whole wind turbine system.     

On the Electrochemical Deposition and Properties of Nickel-Based Composite Coatings

Protection of Metals and Physical Chemistry of Surfaces - Nickel-based composite electrochemical coatings (CECs) modified with graphite nitrate have been obtained. Their microstructure and...     

Conveyer-belt accidents in mining and metallurgy

The dynamic interaction between the mechanical and electrical drive parameters when damage suddenly appears in the mechanical part of a conveyer belt is investigated. The possibility of using the change in the motor’s electrical parameters as a diagnostic signal is assessed. A model for investigating the dynamic processes in the system consisting of the grid, the induction motor, and the conveyer belt is proposed. The grid and induction motor are described by a model of fourth-order state space, whose output is the torque at the motor shaft. The moments of inertia and pliability of the links between the elements in the mechanical part of the conveyer belt are determined. By gradually identifying the elements with the minimum moment of inertia and distributing their moments of inertia and pliabilities among the adjacent elements, we obtain a three-mass system simulating the mechanical part of the conveyer belt. This dynamic model is solved by means of Matlab Simulink software. The energy characteristics of the drive are determined in dynamic processes following a mechanical accident.     

The Influence of Magnetron Sputtering Conditions on the Structure of Zr–Pd Coatings

Technical Physics Letters - Using the method of DC magnetron sputtering, nonstructured amorphous metal coatings of Zr75Pd25 composition were obtained with an average deposition rate of 1.3 nm/s at...