LM Wind Power’s record-breaking 107 metre blade for GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X turbine has received its component certificate from TUV Nord.
The component certification hinged on the testing of two 107 metre blades produced at the LM factory in Cherbourg, France, the company said.
One blade completed its testing at the WTTC test facility in Boston, in the US in September.
The other underwent a full-scale test (including static test, fatigue test and post-fatigue test) at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s facility in Blyth, UK.
The final pull of the post-fatigue test took place in mid-October and less than two weeks later, the blade Component Certificate was secured.
This was only possible because of the advanced documentation preparation and close coordination between WTTC, ORE Catapult, LM Wind Power, GE Renewable Energy and TUV Nord, LM said.
LM Wind Power engineering vice president Hanif Mashal said: “Validating a blade and composite structure with the size and complexity of the Haliade-X LM 107.0 P is a technological milestone never seen or tried before.
“We are proud of the team whose tenacity and perseverance were continuously challenged by the circumstances we had to operate in, such as during the pandemic.
“We not only validated our design hypothesis with successful completion of the test but also encountered unknown risks and challenges.”
ORE Catapult test and validation director Tony Quinn added: “The testing programme undertaken on the LM 107m blade has been the most intensive and rigorous that we have undertaken, applying extreme loads under laboratory conditions 50% greater than ever previously applied in a blade test.
“To achieve full certification of the longest blade in the world is a ground-breaking achievement and testament to an unparalleled programme of collaboration between LM, GE Renewable Energy and ORE Catapult under the most challenging of global circumstances.”