The risk of damage to wind turbines from fire is second only to the risk from blade failure according to a recent article in Windpower Engineering and Development.
The risk from fire is significant because wind turbines pose particular fire detection and suppression challenges.
Wind turbines are usually situated in remote locations which means fires can easily go unreported causing substantial damage.
Any fire system must also be able to withstand challenging environmental conditions including fluctuations in weather and temperature, ambient dust and vibrations from the turbine itself.
The article highlights the use of linear heat detection (LHD) as a good method of addressing some of the challenges.
Linear heat detection systems are not affected by air or dust reducing ongoing maintenance to zero. Any other system would have to be cleaned and maintained.
Linear heat detection is also a mechanical – rather than an electrical – alarm system which is activated when the heat sensitive polymer melts. This significantly reduces the power required to operate the system compared with other detection methods.
For wind turbines we would recommend installing Signaline FT – a simple cost-effective solution which is not affected by dust and air temperature fluctuations, requires no ongoing maintenance and would not need its own dedicated power supply.
You can find out more information about Signaline FT on our website, or contact our sales team: sales@lgmproducts.com.