The Danish engineering company R&D Test Systems has delivered a new bench that can test wind turbine blades up to 130 metres long to the US-based Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC).
The new full- scale multi-axis fatigue blade test system will also shorten the test time, as WTTC can use the same setup to test flap- and edge-wise fatigue test without changing the test setup, it said.
The blade exciter consists of two units that can deliver individual force and power up to 120kN and 210kW, respectively.
The software allows users to easily configure the test system for different tests.
The two units can be used in combination for parallel or dual-axis operation or separately on other test areas.
Using the exciter units in dual-axis operation allows the OEMs to save valuable time when testing their blades, according to R&D Test Systems.
They can perform flap- and edge-wise fatigue tests using only one test system, saving changeover time when shifting between the tests, it added, and the multi-axial setup enables entirely new test scenarios that closely simulate what the blades are exposed to offshore wind.
After being assembled in Denmark, the test bench was shipped to Boston, US.
During April, R&D Test Systems installed and commissioned the system on-site.
After a successful commissioning, the test system was handed over to WTTC, which is already running the first test cycles with the blade exciter.
The development of new and larger wind turbines has never been faster than we currently experience, WTTC said.
Hence, the rest of the supply chain needs to be ready and predict what the OEMs need next to keep up the development and limit the time-to-market, it added.
To accommodate this, WTTC, that performs large wind turbine blade testing, ordered a new test bench with the size and power to test the next generations of wind turbine blades.
This was part of the $4 million dollar US Department of Energy and MassCEC’s grant to upgrade the blade testing equipment to accommodate the new and longer blades for the larger offshore turbine models.
Key account manager for R&D Test Systems, Niels Pedersen said: “Delivering the first blade test setup in this size to the US is a milestone for R&D Test Systems. This is the first commercial dual-axis system that we have delivered.
“As American owned company by MTS and ITW it is a strategic goal to increase our US activities.”
Rahul Yarala, executive director at WTTC, added: “As a testing facility, we must be ready for what the OEMs will develop next.
“And with this test equipment, we will have the setup to meet the requirements, improve the testing quality, and simultaneously shorten the test time significantly.”