Optimization maintenance of wind turbines using Markov decision processes

As the wind power industry is getting more mature, and wind farms are taking their place as one of the mainstream options for new power generation, the demands for ensuring the wind turbines of reliable and economical operation are getting higher. Maintenance is indispensable to the core business objectives of the wind industry. Maintenance optimization is a means to determine the most cost-effective maintenance strategy. After studied the exiting maintenance method of wind turbines, this brief paper presents a method which incorporates modeling of equipment deterioration, inspection and minor & preventive maintenance for optimal maintenance decision. Using Markov decision processes, we provide an optimal cost-effective maintenance policy including maintenance actions based on the condition revealed at the time of inspection and inspection interval. Furthermore, an example is presented to illustrate the implementation of proposed method.