4Subsea, a provider of digital technology and services, has launched a new autonomous sensor that measures the dynamic strain of offshore wind turbines with high resolution and accuracy. The sensor will reduce cost of operations and maximize life of offshore wind turbines.
Unlike regular strain gage installations, 4Subsea’s Smart Monitoring Sensor (SMS) Strain is an autonomous, retrofittable sensor that can be installed without special requirements, such as the use of specialized technicians, equipment or a clean environment. In addition, the technology can easily be installed by hand on the turbine tower or using divers or ROV for subsea installation, for instance, on the substructure.
SMS Strain has extremely low power consumption, enabling continuous logging and data storage at 10 Hz sampling frequency for a full 12 months. The SMS Strain sensors can be cabled to motion sensors like the SMS Gateway (topside) or SMS Motion (subsea) to provide fully synchronized strain and motion data. This gives an opportunity to assess structural loads in correlation with deflections and response frequencies which are critical parameters in wind turbine design. Furthermore, the sensors are made as true IoT sensors where that given access to power and the internet, they will automatically start sending data to the cloud where the data is processed, and insight from the data can be visualized to the customers.
“With the launch of SMS Strain, we continue to simplify the complexity of the challenges faced by our clients by providing informed data to develop optimal, tailor-made solutions,” says Peter Jenkins, CEO of 4Subsea. “The sooner you know the status of your asset, the larger the range of available options to either optimize or mitigate the findings. The key to unlocking this knowledge is increased understanding, which our sensors deliver. SMS Strain is the latest of our autonomous sensors that help operators reduce the cost of operations and maximize life of assets when combined with our data analytics and engineering specialists within the company.”
The SMS Strain is the sixth sensor in 4Subsea’s sensor product line, adding new capabilities to the company’s existing offering that includes SMS Motion, SMS Magic Hand, SMS Gateway, SMS ComCentral and SMS Guard.
