Reliability & Maintenance of Solar or Wind renewable energy systems Research Paper - 1

Reliability & Maintenance of solar or Wind renewable energy systems - Research Paper Example every(prenominal) failure has a cost attached to it. The principal reliability-linked factors of cost through the useful life of an item being Design & Development, Production and Maintenance & Repair, evaluated in the backdrop of installation and environmental parameters like temperature, humidity, vibration, corrosion by chemical attack etc. and the degradation caused by the combination of a few or all of them. A higher(prenominal) reliability invariably envisages higher harvestion, design and development costs, whereas, appropriately factored-in maintenance and repair costs can lead to higher levels of reliability. In the context of non-sustainability of the flowing energy practices, dawning of global awareness that renewable energy sources are the only way out, has led to a fair emphasis on solar energy as one of the (wind energy being the other) most abundant and attractive renewable e nergy source, easily addressable for harnessing. In the scenario of rapidly depleting natural energy sources like coal, oil and natural gas, the solar option has presented itself as an alternative which is being vigorously pursued for viability for commercialised exploitation in the longer run. A system that uses solar cells and solar panels in a mechanical system that collects, transforms DC current into AC current and stores the electricity for later use is often called Active Solar Energy. The deeper Bath Tub assumes the shape of a Shallow Pan in the case of nonoperational equipments predominantly deployed for renewable energy applications, as far as reliability is concerned the failure zones in this case are therefore not pronounced. Listed beneath are a few indicative amongst the many, though not exhaustive, but popular applications Solar air conditioning Solar ovens for heating of foodstuffs Agricultural irrigation heat content generation by the use of photo-electro-chemi cal cells The following applications however stand out amongst the most popular commercial applications 1. Generation of electricity in Solar updraft towers Solar towers use an array of reflectors termed heliostats, approximately 120 sq. meters in size. Located on top of 150 meters tall towers within receptacles, these are reckoned towards the sun for direct absorption of the heat of the concentrated solar radiation. Operating temperatures close to 1000oC can be attained depending upon the choice of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) which in flip also decides the design of the receptacle, lined with the very best quality insulation material for optimum performance. High reliability is foreseen at the design stage itself. potential failure points are identified in advance using the FMECA (Failure Mode Criticality and Effect Analysis) technique and appropriate specification de-rating vis-a-vis the liberal marketer rating is resorted to, for ensuring realistic unhindered performance. Fi nite element thermal simulation and sensitivity analysis to comply with the thermal specifications also forms part of the internal product review. External third party assessment provides inputs for MTBF (Mean Time between Failures) calculation for useful lifetime assessment, maintainability and manufacturing as part of an iterative design process for reproducible improvement of product designs and individual components. Selection of the most appropriate materials of construction of all the components of solar renewable energy systems forms the last