Dayu Electronics M80 Underwater Ranging Sensor for Scour Monitoring of Offshore Wind Turbine and Cross-Sea Bridge Foundations
1. Project Background
An offshore wind farm located on the southeastern coast of China uses monopile foundations. After long-term operation, the seabed around the piles has been scoured by currents, forming scour pits that threaten the structural safety of the wind turbines. Traditional manual inspections are costly, risky, and cannot provide continuous monitoring. To address this, the wind farm operator decided to deploy a real-time online monitoring system consisting of an M80 underwater ranging sensor and an RTU remote telemetry terminal, enabling 24-hour uninterrupted monitoring of pile scour conditions.
2. System Composition
System Component | Function Description | Key Parameters |
M80 stainless steel underwater ranging sensor | Installed at predetermined positions on the pile foundation, it emits ultrasonic waves toward the seabed and measures the distance from the sensor to the seabed surface in real time to determine scour depth. | Range: 50 m, Accuracy: ±0.5%, M80 stainless steel housing, IP68 rating, corrosion-resistant |
RTU remote telemetry terminal | Responsible for sensor power supply, data acquisition, and remote data transmission; supports 4G/Beidou wireless communication, featuring low power consumption and high reliability. | Supports multiple sensor inputs, solar + battery power, remote configuration. |
Cloud platform and monitoring center | Receives data uploaded by the RTU, providing real-time display, storage, and analysis; supports multi-dimensional alarms and generates historical data reports. | Mobile app, data API interface |
3. Application Results
Real-time monitoring and precise early warning
The system successfully detected multiple events of aggravated pile scour after typhoons passed, sending timely alarms.
Data-driven and scientific decision-making
Through long-term data accumulation, the patterns of scour influenced by different seasons, tides, and currents were identified, enabling optimized inspection and maintenance plans and significantly reducing operation and maintenance costs.
4. Customer Feedback
"Since installing this real-time monitoring system, it’s like giving our offshore turbines 'eyes.' We can monitor the safety status of each pile foundation in real time from the office, and even sleep soundly at night. This system has not only improved safety but also saved us a significant amount in operation and maintenance costs."
5. Industry Value and Promotion Prospects
This case fully demonstrates the outstanding value of the M80 underwater ranging sensor + RTU telemetry terminal solution in offshore pile scour monitoring. It can be widely applied to:
1. Pile scour monitoring for offshore wind farms, cross-sea bridges, and ports/harbors
2. Obstacle avoidance and depth measurement for underwater robots and unmanned surface vessels
With the rapid development of China’s marine economy and new energy industry, such intelligent and unmanned monitoring solutions are set to become the industry standard, with broad market prospects.