The £1.6m centre for advanced condition monitoring — funded by the university, SgurrEnergy and David Brown Gear Systems and scheduled to open in September — will develop techniques to improve the availability of offshore wind farms and reduce the need for expensive and reactive offshore maintenance.
Researchers at the centre will initially focus on technology to monitor the condition of offshore gearboxes, including advanced remote sensors to detect how they are being affected by extreme wind conditions.
They will work alongside counterparts at the university’s wind energy systems doctoral training centre, which is funded by the EPSRC, to provide training to PhD students to help address the skills shortage in the renewables sector.
The news comes just weeks after the university unveiled plans for the Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) at Strathclyde — a research hub for academics and industry at the heart of Scotland’s International Technology and Renewable Energy Zone (ITREZ) in Glasgow.
The centre for advanced condition monitoring will work in parallel with the TIC and will support the UK’s growing offshore wind industry.
Comment: With great projects come great people - the story of our energy grid
I think that the use of great here is nothing to do with being the best; it is about big projects with big companies creating big & expensive...