Danish center tests strains on larger offshore wind turbines
Offshore staff
HINNERUP, Denmark – R&D Test Systems has designed and delivered what it claims is the world’s largest and most powerful highly accelerated lifetime testing (HALT) test bench for wind turbine nacelles.
The program was conducted at Denmark’s Lindø Offshore Renewables Centre (LORC), with a focus on test and validation.
The new test rig, HALT XL, is said to be capable of accommodating larger wind turbines and demonstrating their reliably in extreme offshore conditions.
HALT XL, mounted on a 30-m (98.4-ft) long concrete base, includes a 25-MW drive motor, 15 m (49 ft) in diameter.
The system can deliver a tilt moment of 85 million Nm, which is said to allow the test bench to simulate the harshest of wind conditions, helping wind turbine manufacturers deliver quicker and more accurate assessments of reliability.
“We needed to design a test bench that could expose wind turbine prototypes to the equivalent of 20 years of weather conditions in just six to eight months,” said Sascha Heinecke, sales director, R&D Test Systems.
“Field testing of wind turbines, especially those for offshore use, is becoming more difficult, but HALT testing allows manufacturers to ensure their prototypes conform to applicable standards.
“It also provides them with a crucial insight into how their new technology will react to the conditions they will encounter out at sea.”
The test bench at LORC employs a stepped stress-testing approach that exposes prototype products to different accelerated stresses to determine the physical limits of a design and the product’s reliability.
The prototypes can be exposed to all the stresses and strains they could reasonably be expected to endure during a 20-year lifetime in just 3% of that time. During the process, any weaknesses and failure mechanisms can be determined.
12/09/2021