Feature Evaluation for the Purpose of Biofouling Diagnostics in Tidal Turbines

One of the very relevant topics of today is renewable energy, which we search for in bio-fuels, solar power, wind and water. An interesting concept, that has a great potential in harnessing nature energy sources are tidal turbines. These submerged devices use the power of waves to create electricity. Being submerged, however, exposes them to a particular way of degradation which is bio-fouling. This is an accumulation of bio-materials on the device causing it performance to degrade. Efficient diagnostics and degradation analysis require proper understanding and analysis of available data. In this paper we consider what kind of features can be extracted from the current and voltage signals available. We use different frameworks allowing such analysis and extraction of features for such applications.