Fatigue Load Estimation through a Simple Stochastic Model

We propose a procedure to estimate the fatigue loads on wind turbines, based on a recent framework used for reconstructing data series of stochastic properties measured at wind turbines. Through a standard fatigue analysis, we show that it is possible to accurately estimate fatigue loads in any wind turbine within one wind park, using only the load measurements at one single turbine and the set of wind speed measurements. Our framework consists of deriving a stochastic differential equation that describes the evolution of the torque at one wind turbine driven by the wind speed. The stochastic equation is derived directly from the measurements and is afterwards used for predicting the fatigue loads for neighboring turbines. Such a framework could be used to mitigate the financial efforts usually necessary for placing measurement devices in all wind turbines within one wind farm. Finally, we also discuss the limitations and possible improvements of the proposed procedure.