Pilz’s PNOZmulti Guarantees the wind turbine to a Safe Condition

Published:2011/12/28 1:20:00 Author:Phyllis From:SeekIC

As an alternative energy solution, wind energy has become more and more important. Manufacturers of wind turbines face challenges of reducing downtimes and maintenance work. Other demands of turbine components include extreme temperature conditions, vibration, oscillation and aggressive offshore air composition.

As more windmills are built and America begins to use wind as larger source of energy heading into the future, safety operation of wind turbines is getting more significant.

Different from individual components, Pilz’s configurable control system PNOZmulti guarantees the wind turbine to a safe condition for both human and machine. Some of the safe monitoring functions include: emergency stop pushbutton, master low voltage switch, oil pressure protection and hermetic protection for the medium voltage transformer, and pitch system. Additional safe monitoring functions include: limit values for true power, vibration, generator speed, rotor speed and line transposition (monitoring of azimuth position) and signals from the fire detection system.

All the safety functions are created directly on the PC with the PNOZmulti Configurator and can be stored on a chip card and downloaded to the base unit.

The PNOZmulti can clearly reduce the load on mechanical wearing parts by differentiating the reaction to various operational circumstances. A safe condition for both humans and wind turbine can be achieved by reducing the rotor speed and preventing all movements or by switching off hazardous voltages, provided these are not required for the safety function.

Manufacturers can avoid unnecessary downtimes and thus increase the cost effectiveness of their wind turbines with PNOZmulti.

PNOZmulti is available in a coated version for use under extreme environmental conditions. This version can be used in extended temperature ranges, permits condensation and is resistant to aggressive air composition. Also, the configurable control system PNOZmulti can communicate via all relevant fieldbus systems. With PNOZmulti, applications can achieve up to Performance Level (PL) e of EN ISO 13849-1 and Safety Integrity Level (SIL) CL 3 of IEC 62061. PNOZmulti is certified worldwide.

Another benefit of the PNOZmulti is that the user program is password protected, enabling manipulation protection to be differentiated with a range of access levels for maintenance staff and installation engineers.

Print this Page | Comments | Reading(336)