SMART-W: Smart Assets to reduce the cost of delivering Offshore Wind

Clean growth is at the heart of the governments Industrial Strategy. To meet the UK's 2050 net zero target, the UK must increase energy production from renewable sources by fourfold. For Offshore Wind to fulfil this demand, innovations are needed to reduce the cost of delivering this source of energy. Specifically, wind farm operators are actively seeking remote condition monitoring technologies to continuously monitor the mechanical integrity of safety and performance critical bolts.

This collaborative project between Smart Component Technologies Ltd (SCT) and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE) will develop, test and evaluate a new version of the Smart Washer for the Wind industry, from TRL 3 to 7\. The Smart Washer is a first-of-a-kind condition monitoring solution that measures the preload of safety and performance critical bolts. The Smart Washer is fitted as a member in the bolted connection and monitors bolt preload using a proprietary and patented clamp force sensor. The sensor data is wirelessly transmitted to a cloud service where it is stored, analysed and visualised.