Research on wind turbines preventive maintenance strategies based on reliability and cost-effectiveness ratio

Purpose The purpose of this study is to optimize the operational efficiency of the entire system by developing a reasonable maintenance strategy for wind turbines that improves component reliability and safety while reducing maintenance costs. Design/methodology/approach A hybrid incomplete preventive maintenance (PM) model based on boundary intensity process is established to give dynamic PM intervals for wind turbines using an iterative method with reliability as a constraint; the selection method of PM and replacement is given based on the cost-effectiveness ratio, which in turn determines the optimal number of PM for wind turbines. Findings The reliability is used to obtain the components’ maintenance cycle, and the cost-effectiveness ratio is used to select the number of maintenance times, thus, getting the optimal maintenance strategy. The validity of this paper’s method is verified by arithmetic cases, which provides a new method for formulating a reasonable PM strategy for wind turbines. Practical implications The wind turbine preventive maintenance strategy for Boundary intensity process proposed in this paper can scientifically formulate the maintenance strategy, optimize the cost-effectiveness per unit of time of the wind power generation system, and solve the problems of difficulty in formulating a reasonable maintenance strategy for the wind turbine components and high operation and maintenance costs. Originality/value In this paper, the authors describe the failure pattern by a Boundary intensity process, establish a hybrid incomplete PM model by introducing a failure intensity increment factor and an age reduction factor and establish a maintenance strategy optimization model with comprehensive consideration of reliability and cost-effectiveness ratio. Finally, the validity of the model in this paper is verified by arithmetic case analysis. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-05-2024-0153/