Health Condition Monitoring, Intelligent Operation and Maintenance of Wind Turbines

A special issue of Machines (ISSN 2075-1702). This special issue belongs to the section "Turbomachinery".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2026 | Viewed by 4182

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan 316021, China
Interests: offshore wind power; health monitoring and fault diagnosis; offshore platform structures; marine engineering structure design; high-end marine engineering equipment
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Guest Editor
School of Software & Internet of Things Engineering, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China
Interests: offshore wind power; signal processing; health monitoring and fault diagnosis; energy harvesting and wireless sensing

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Guest Editor
College of Logistics Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
Interests: health monitoring; intelligent operation; maintenance; signal processing; intelligent fault diagnosis; remaining useful life prediction
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Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Interests: digital signal processing; tool condition monitoring; fault diagnosis; power systems analysis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the continuous global growth in demand for clean energy, wind power generation, as a significant form of renewable energy generation, has been widely adopted. Wind turbine generators are typically installed in either terrestrial or marine environments. During long-term operation, due to the complex and harsh environments they are exposed to, various components of the units are prone to wear, fatigue, and other faults. In particular, the drive train system, as a critical link in energy transfer within wind turbine generators, directly impacts the units' power generation efficiency, operational reliability, and service life. Therefore, conducting research on the health condition monitoring and intelligent operation and maintenance (O&M) of wind turbine generators is of great significance for ensuring the stable operation of wind power generation systems, reducing O&M costs, and improving energy utilization efficiency.

This Special Issue focuses on the health condition monitoring and intelligent O&M of wind turbine generators. It aims to gather the latest research findings and advancements in relevant fields both domestically and internationally, facilitate academic exchanges, and promote the development and application of intelligent O&M technologies for wind turbines. The topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Intelligent sensing technologies;
  • Advanced signal processing algorithms;
  • Dynamic modeling and fault simulation of key components;
  • Fault warning and identification of key components in wind turbine generators;
  • Remaining useful life prediction based on deep learning;
  • Digital twin-driven fault diagnosis of wind turbines;
  • Knowledge graph and large-model technologies;
  • Research on O&M technologies and modes for offshore wind power in deep and far sea areas;
  • Predictive maintenance strategies for wind turbine generators.

Prof. Dr. Ronghua Zhu
Dr. Cailiang Zhang
Dr. Chaoge Wang
Dr. Zepeng Liu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • wind turbines
  • digital twin
  • fault diagnosis
  • predictive maintenance

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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31 pages, 7238 KB  
Article
Multimodal Fault Diagnosis of Rolling Bearings Based on GRU–ResNet–CBAM
by Kunbo Xu, Jingyang Zhang, Dongjun Liu, Chaoge Wang, Ran Wang and Funa Zhou
Machines 2026, 14(3), 318; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines14030318 - 11 Mar 2026
Viewed by 292
Abstract
Rolling bearings exhibit nonlinear and non-stationary fault signals under complex working conditions, rendering single-modal representation insufficient for accurate diagnosis. To address this limitation, this paper proposes a novel parallel multimodal fusion fault diagnosis model based on a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), a Residual [...] Read more.
Rolling bearings exhibit nonlinear and non-stationary fault signals under complex working conditions, rendering single-modal representation insufficient for accurate diagnosis. To address this limitation, this paper proposes a novel parallel multimodal fusion fault diagnosis model based on a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), a Residual Network (ResNet), and a Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM). First, a systematic multimodal representation selection framework is introduced, identifying the Markov Transition Field (MTF) as the optimal two-dimensional (2D) image modality due to its superior texture clarity and noise resistance compared to other methods. Second, parallel dual-branch architecture is designed to simultaneously process heterogeneous data. The 1D-GRU branch captures long-range temporal dependencies directly from raw vibration signals, while the 2D ResNet-CBAM branch extracts deep spatial features from the MTF images, adaptively focusing on key fault regions. These heterogeneous features are then fused through concatenation to retain complementary diagnostic information. Experimental validation on the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) dataset demonstrates that the proposed model achieves a 99.57% accuracy in a 10-classification task. Furthermore, it exhibits significant parameter efficiency and outstanding robustness, with the accuracy decreasing by no more than 1.2% under noise interference and cross-load scenarios, comprehensively outperforming existing single-modal and advanced fusion methods. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 619 KB  
Review
Condition-Based Maintenance in Complex Degradation Systems: A Review of Modeling Evolution, Multi-Component Systems, and Maintenance Strategies
by Hui Cao, Jie Yu and Fuhai Duan
Machines 2025, 13(8), 714; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines13080714 - 12 Aug 2025
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3261
Abstract
This review systematically examines the evolution of maintenance strategies for complex systems, with a focus on the advancements in condition-based maintenance (CBM) decision-making methodologies. Traditional approaches, such as post-failure maintenance and time-based maintenance, are increasingly supplanted by CBM due to challenges like high [...] Read more.
This review systematically examines the evolution of maintenance strategies for complex systems, with a focus on the advancements in condition-based maintenance (CBM) decision-making methodologies. Traditional approaches, such as post-failure maintenance and time-based maintenance, are increasingly supplanted by CBM due to challenges like high costs or inefficiency in resource allocation. CBM leverages system reliability models in conjunction with component degradation data to dynamically establish maintenance thresholds, optimizing resource utilization while minimizing operational risks and repair costs. Research has expanded from single-component degradation systems to multi-component systems, leveraging degradation models and optimization algorithms to propose strategies addressing multi-level control limits, economic dependencies, and task constraints. Recent studies emphasize multi-component interactions, incorporating structural influences, imperfect repairs, and economic correlations into maintenance planning. Despite progress, challenges persist in modeling coupled degradation mechanisms and coordinating maintenance decisions for interdependent components. Future research directions should encompass adaptive learning strategies for dynamic degradation processes, such as those employed in intelligent agents for real-time environmental adaptation, and the incorporation of intelligent predictive technologies to enhance system performance and resource utilization. Full article
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