Methods (200) for reducing vibrations in one or more rotor blades (120) of a wind turbine (160), when the wind turbine is in standstill conditions are provided. The method comprises measuring (201) one or more deformation parameters indicative of deformation of one or more blades (120), determining (202), at a dedicated controller (190) for an auxiliary drive system (20, 107), a vibration of one or more of the blades (120) based on the deformation parameters, wherein the dedicated controller (190) for the auxiliary drive system is separate from the wind turbine controller (180), and generating (203), at the dedicated controller (190), an output signal to operate the auxiliary drive system to reduce the vibration. Also disclosed are wind turbines (160) which comprise a dedicated controller (190) configured to determine a vibration and generating an output signal to reduce the vibration, when the wind turbine is in standstill conditions.

Methods (200) for reducing vibrations in one or more rotor blades (120) of a wind turbine (160), when the wind turbine is in standstill conditions are provided. The method comprises measuring (201) one or more deformation parameters indicative of deformation of one or more blades (120), determining (202), at a dedicated controller (190) for an auxiliary drive system (20, 107), a vibration of one or more of the blades (120) based on the deformation parameters, wherein the dedicated controller (190) for the auxiliary drive system is separate from the wind turbine controller (180), and generating (203), at the dedicated controller (190), an output signal to operate the auxiliary drive system to reduce the vibration. Also disclosed are wind turbines (160) which comprise a dedicated controller (190) configured to determine a vibration and generating an output signal to reduce the vibration, when the wind turbine is in standstill conditions.

A tester for evaluating pullout load capacity and bond quality of anchor bolts embedded in concrete includes a Schmidt hammer for measuring a rebound number and an ultrasonic pulse velocity tester for measuring the transit time of a pulse transmitted through concrete surrounding an anchor bolt. The rebound number and the transit time are combined and matched against a database record which identifies the pullout load capacity and the bond quality. The transit time is matched to thresholds of transit times associated with porosity, internal cracking, air voids, and water pockets located around the embedded anchor bolt. The Schmidt hammer is further modified by the incorporation of a digital level for measuring the vertical and horizontal angles of inclination of the plunger with the concrete surface, a guide tube for supporting the plunger, and by using a convex plunger tip for improved registration with anchor bolt head.

A tester for evaluating pullout load capacity and bond quality of anchor bolts embedded in concrete includes a Schmidt hammer for measuring a rebound number and an ultrasonic pulse velocity tester for measuring the transit time of a pulse transmitted through concrete surrounding an anchor bolt. The rebound number and the transit time are combined and matched against a database record which identifies the pullout load capacity and the bond quality. The transit time is matched to thresholds of transit times associated with porosity, internal cracking, air voids, and water pockets located around the embedded anchor bolt. The Schmidt hammer is further modified by the incorporation of a digital level for measuring the vertical and horizontal angles of inclination of the plunger with the concrete surface, a guide tube for supporting the plunger, and by using a convex plunger tip for improved registration with anchor bolt head.

A fixture for lap shear bonding a bottom panel to a top panel comprises a bottom tool, a first spacer, a second spacer, and a top tool. The bottom tool has a quadrilateral shape including a top surface, a bottom surface, and four side surfaces and is configured to retain the bottom panel on the top surface. The first spacer is attached to the top surface of the bottom tool adjacent to one edge. The second spacer is attached to the top surface of the bottom tool adjacent to an opposing edge. The top tool has a quadrilateral shape including a top surface, a bottom surface, and four side surfaces and is configured to retain the top panel on the bottom surface. The top tool is further configured to attach to the first spacer and the second spacer such that the top panel contacts the bottom panel.

A removable electronics device and related pre-fabricated sensor assemblies having different sensor layouts are provided. The removable electronics module includes one or more processors, an inertial measurement unit, a first communication interface configured to communicatively couple the removable electronics device to one or more computing devices, a second communication interface configured to communicatively couple the removable electronics device to a plurality of pre-fabricated sensor assemblies, and a housing at least partially enclosing the processor, the inertial measurement unit, the first communication interface, and the second communication interface. The housing includes a first opening in at least one longitudinal surface and adjacent to at least a portion of the first communication interface and a plurality of second openings in a lower surface and adjacent to the plurality of contact pads of the second communication interface.

A method of determining whether service is needed on a solar array includes gathering current data with regard to current solar array performance and environmental conditions, collecting weather data, accessing a storage for historical performance data, using the current data, weather data and historical data to generate a predicted performance, comparing the predicted performance to the current solar array performance data to determine if service is needed and generate comparison data, and analyzing the comparison data to determine a type of service needed, if service is needed.

A removable electronics device and related pre-fabricated sensor assemblies having different sensor layouts are provided. The removable electronics module includes one or more processors, an inertial measurement unit, a first communication interface configured to communicatively couple the removable electronics device to one or more computing devices, a second communication interface configured to communicatively couple the removable electronics device to a plurality of pre-fabricated sensor assemblies, and a housing at least partially enclosing the processor, the inertial measurement unit, the first communication interface, and the second communication interface. The housing includes a first opening in at least one longitudinal surface and adjacent to at least a portion of the first communication interface and a plurality of second openings in a lower surface and adjacent to the plurality of contact pads of the second communication interface.

An optical measurement system for detecting at least one locked blade assembly in a gas turbine. The system includes at least one light source for emitting light that impinges on a blade surface of each blade in a row of blade assemblies. The system also includes a video device for imaging the blades as the blades rotate about the center axis. Further, the system includes a controller for controlling operation of the light source and video device. The controller detects a pixel intensity associated with each blade and a spacing between each pixel intensity wherein a change in spacing between consecutive pixel intensities indicates that a distance between consecutive blades has changed relative to the first distance thereby indicating at least one locked blade assembly.

A control apparatus for rotating device includes a plurality information sensors and a controller. The information sensors are coupled to the rotating device for sensing temperature information, acoustic information and vibration information. The controller receives the temperature information, the acoustic information and the vibration information at a plurality of consecutive sampling time points to respectively obtain a plurality of sampled temperature values, a plurality of sampled noise values, and a plurality of sampled vibration values, during a time period. The controller generates a plurality of status signals corresponding to the sampling time points according to the sampled temperature values, the sampled noise values and the sampled vibration values. The controller generates a control signal according to the status signals, and transports the control signal to control an operation of the rotating device.