A review of fault diagnosis and prediction methods for wind turbine pitch systems.

Pitch system is an essential subsystem of a wind turbine, which is to efficiently capture and maximize the utilization of wind energy by controlling the rotation of the blades. Its safety and stability directly affect the operation of wind farm, but the complex internal mechanics and control system makes pitch system very susceptible to failure. This paper first summarized fault diagnosis and fault prediction about pitch system of wind turbine. We were briefly introduced the main faults of electric-driven and hydraulic-driven pitch systems, the sources of diagnostic data, and the methods pre-processing. Then, four types of fault diagnosis methods and three fault prediction methods were discussed to provide a valuable guidance for the maintenance of pitch systems. Finally, the prospect on the future development of fault diagnosis and fault prediction techniques about pitch system was suggested to further improve the safety of wind turbines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]