A Danish research project will explore the opportunities for digitalisation of large-scale test benches, which could reduce the time and cost of testing of wind turbines by up to 20%.
For wind turbine manufacturers and their sub-suppliers, testing is essential to ensuring the quality of both the design and manufacturing are of a high standard.
Testing the components requires deploying complex and expensive experimental facilities, which are used by multiple turbine makers and sub-suppliers.
R&D Test Systems, in Denmark, has designed and delivered the world’s largest test bench for wind turbines, the HALT XL, for Lindø Offshore Renewables Center (LORC).
Full-scale testing of wind turbines is still possible.
However, due to the increasing size of the wind turbines and their sub-components, the testing takes more time, creating an expensive and longer time-to-market for new and more efficient products.
To overcome this challenge, a newly founded research project named “DIGIT-BENCH” (DIGItal Twin for large-scale test BENCHes for the wind industry) aims to develop a framework for the digitalisation of large-scale test benches.
The project is funded by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP), a Danish public support program that grants aid to the development and demonstration of new energy technologies.
The framework of the project is based on the digital twin paradigm meaning that the framework lives upon a digital replica of both the test bench and the device under test (DUT).
By creating a digital twin of the test bench, it will be possible to predict processes related to a test campaign and reduce the test bench’s expensive and unused time.
The goal is to enable the test bench operator to perform test rehearsal virtually, replace some physical experiments with virtual experiments, and improve operation and maintenance.
“Today, when you run a test campaign, there’s a lot of manual workflows. We can help make these parts more efficient and save time by digitalising them.
“E.g., with virtual testing, it will be possible to predict how the DUT will be placed on the test equipment, saving weeks or months.
“Whenever the test bench is not in use, it’s costly for both the OEM and the test centre such as LORC,” said Elif Ecem Bas, Digital Tech Lead at R&D Test Systems.