Pilz Helps Exporters in Wind Industry Get CE Mark

Wind turbine companies wishing to export to the European Union need to get their products CE marked or they will not be compliant with European law.  A declaration of conformity for wind turbines is necessary because by definition, a wind turbine is a functional machine, and as such it falls within the scope of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.

For this reason wind turbines need to be issued with a declaration of conformity in accordance with Annex IIA of the Machinery Directive and will also be subject to the CE marking process.  The CE marks confirms that a machine conforms to the European directives.

Pilz Automation Safety can guide companies through all the phases en route to CE certification for wind turbines. 

Pilz offers risk analysis as the basis for the declaration of conformity.  This procedure is based on a thorough, competently executed and systematic risk analysis that detects and evaluates potential hazards and then employs appropriate safeguards to reduce these hazards. The result of the risk analysis is then incorporated into the development of an appropriate safety concept.

Pilz offers wind turbine manufacturers comprehensive support in performing the risk analysis.  The risk analysis includes identification of applicable standards, and regulations and best industry practices.  The analysis also includes determination of the limits of the wind turbine, examination of all the hazards throughout the entire lifecycle and all operational phases.  The analysis also contains the recommended approach for reducing risk, based on the current standards.

Also, Pilz engineers have developed a methodology for testing safety-critical elements on wind turbines, based on decades of experience in machine validation. It examines whether the implemented safety measures meet all the requirements. The test applied during validation covers:

• Assessment of the selected components
• Assessment of the implemented designs in comparison with the safety requirements
• Implementation of a function test and fault simulation
• Test of the safety-related software and hardware functions
• Test of the sensor/actuator technology and its wiring
• Production of a test report with detailed information about the results

Wind turbine safety increasingly important as industry expands

Wind energy has begun to lead the way in alternative energy solutions.  Manufacturers of wind turbines face challenges such as reducing downtimes and maintenance work.  Some of the demands placed on turbine components include extreme temperature conditions, vibration, oscillation and aggressive offshore air composition.

Keeping wind turbines safely operating is becoming increasingly important as more windmills are built and America begins to use wind as larger source of energy heading into the future.

In the event of a management failure or the failure of individual components, the configurable control system PNOZmulti from Pilz guarantees that the wind turbine is brought 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.

By differentiating the reaction to various operational circumstances, the PNOZmulti can clearly reduce the load on mechanical wearing parts. 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. With PNOZmulti, manufacturers can avoid unnecessary downtimes and thus increase the cost effectiveness of their wind turbines.

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.