DLM Expands Running Line Monitor Range

Dynamic Load Monitoring (UK) Ltd (DLM), of Southampton, UK, has added a 15t capacity mini Wireless Running Line Monitor (RLM) to its range of products for the wind energy sector. The system records load, speed and distance against time.

DLM, a specialist in the design, manufacture, repair and calibration of load cells and load monitoring equipment used on and around turbines, already provides a variety of products to the onshore and offshore wind industry, including larger 60t and 200t capacity RLMs, which measure tension on wire rope. The systems are used with a TW- 3.0-T handheld display. There is a version of the handheld that allows data logging to a USB stick plugged into the base (TW-3.0-T-A), while the TW-3.0-T-S is able to provide an RS232 output to a ship’s survey suite.

Martin Halford, Managing Director at DLM, said: “The great thing about this product is that it runs on our TW-3.0-T electronics, which means you can have multiple RLMs to one display or multiple displays for one RLM. This is particularly useful when installing power cables at a wind farm, as users are able to have a local display on board the turbine where they are pulling the cable, combined with another display on the vessel where the cable is being laid from.”

Cables are ubiquitous in the wind energy market, such as the turbine umbilical cables for offshore wind turbines connecting to subsea networks, flexible festoon power cables attached to motors, array cables that connect turbines together, and monitoring cables that determine the direction of turbine blades. In all instances, it is important that professionals in the sector gather data as forces are experienced by their installed equipment.

The 15t capacity mini wireless RLM boasts many of the features of the 60t and 200t versions, including marine grade DP4B bearings on all wheels and a gauged shear pin load cell. The entire range is designed to be used in the harshest of environments, while modular design allows for easy setup, installation and servicing. The RLMs can be supplied with various diameter wheels to suit particular rope; the 60t version is compatible with rope diameters from 16-52mm and the 200t version, 38-78mm.

Halford said: “The product was conceptualised via a U.S. distributor, who required a solution for measuring tension on lines at a dam. As has historically been the case with many of our bespoke innovations, they become standardised as wider usage is envisaged. In wind energy, users now have the ability to utilise the same benefits of the higher capacity models, in a smaller, more transportable unit. This will prove particularly useful when working at height on turbines.”