|
|
Is Damage Tolerance the Future? |
|
|
|
Monday, 01 October 2007 |
Smarter and Faster Blade Testing
 The last decade has seen a remarkable growth in the rated power of wind turbines throughout the world, particularly in Europe, with a 170m diameter 10MW turbine thought technically feasible by 2015. It has been an increasing challenge for the wind turbine industry to meet these technical requirements and in doing so the industry has employed a large amount of innovation in the detailed use of materials, design, analysis and testing. In this article, the authors propose a new damage tolerance methodology for the design and testing of wind turbine blades. This has the potential to radically reduce the test programme requirements for large wind turbine blades.
By Josef Kryger Tadich and Jakob Wedel-Heinen, DNV Wind Energy, Denmark
|
|
|
Introduction to 3D Landscape Tools |
|
|
|
Monday, 01 October 2007 |
A Decade of Wind Farm Software
 A summary is given of some of the developments that have taken place over the last 10 years in the field of wind farm software. The visualisation side of the development process has advanced the most and now sees the introduction of 3D landscape tools.
By Alan Harris, ReSoft Ltd, UK
|
|
|
The Physics Behind Wind Measurement |
|
|
|
Monday, 01 October 2007 |
The Concept of the PrimAero Wind Sensor
 Have you ever seen standard meteorological wind measurement devices like wind vanes or anemometers on aeroplanes? Certainly not. The most important reason is that the measurement bases would be wrong. When you compare measurement devices, the most obvious differences are the measurement principles they are based on (i.e. the use of laser, sound waves or other techniques to detect a signal and the physics behind this). But this is only one aspect. Even more interesting than 'how' a device works is 'what' it measures. Clarity about the measurement target is the most important factor to consider for any measurement device. From this point of view, the PrimAero wind sensor is unique for wind measurement on wind turbines because it not only measures the wind speed but also the wind pressure as a whole.
By Klaus Ritzinger, Head of Research & Development, IXIST Messtechnik, Germany
|
|
|
Lightning Protection of Wind Turbines |
|
|
|
Monday, 01 October 2007 |
Simulation of Electric Field Distributions Caused by the Lightning Leader
 Based on the lightning leader model of Cooray et al., the electric field distribution on a wind turbine induced by the leader has been simulated using the Finite Element Method (FEM). Because of its dimensions and complexity, the wind turbine has been simplified to its lightning protection system and by simulating only one blade. The derived electric field distribution has then been used as input for a detailed blade-tip model. The detailed model can be used to analyse the influence of the down-conductor shape on the electric breakdown emergence.
By Bastian Lewke and Josef Kindersberger, Technische Universität München, Germany
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>
|
| Results 28 - 36 of 131 |
For many years the Dutch style of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) has dominated the market, but now, for a number of reasons, developers and investors alike are taking another look at what Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) can offer. This article takes a brief look at the technical reasons why this type of machine deserves closer scrutiny in the form of smaller machines for the built environment, or larger machines for wind farms and offshore applications. It tries to explain the commercial reasons why many people are now starting to recognise the benefits of VAWT machines and why this type of machine could be the next growth area within the industry.
