Making Wind Turbine Assembly a Breeze

In the constantly changing landscape of the wind power industry, turbine design is being taken to new levels in order to maximise efficiency. Larger parts with tighter tolerances are being used, higher quality materials are demanded, reliability is essential and cost-efficiency is a must. HYTORC has been involved in turbine assembly since the early days of the industry, and has invested heavily to stay ahead of the curve as methods and materials have progressed. This article describes some of the new techniques and products from HYTORC that make wind turbine manufacturing and maintenance simpler, faster and more cost-effective.

By Joachim Santen and Jason Junkers, HYTORC Division UNEX Corporation, USA

Professional Customers Require Professional Suppliers

For more than three decades, the Wind Energy unit of ECN (Energy research Centre of the Netherlands) has been one of the leading wind energy research institutes in Europe. Its main focus has been on long-term research, which has been mainly funded by the Dutch government and the European Union. With the growth of the wind industry, especially during the last five years, ECN Wind Energy has been approached more and more often to assist the wind industry in their developments. Wind turbine developers used ECN’s knowledge to develop their rotor blades and analyse the mechanical loads, while project developers used the unit’s knowledge of wind farm layout, stability of the electrical grid, and the development of an adequate strategy for operating and maintaining offshore wind farms. To minimise the interruption of the long-term R&D projects, and to better react to industry enquiries, ECN Wind Energy established the EWIS group (ECN Wind Industrial Support) in 2009.

By Luc Rademakers, Head of EWIS Group, ECN Wind Energy, the Netherlands

Ensuring the Quality of Wind Turbine Parts

In the fast-growing market for wind power systems, quality assurance according to international industrial standards has become an important issue. Wind power plants are no longer a niche playground for ‘environmental freaks’. It’s a serious business where cost efficiency, life cycle costs, reliability and availability of the components must be considered. Coordinate measuring machines play a vital role in ensuring the accuracy and quality of components. This article describes how Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik has developed its series of MMZ machine measuring centres, which are tailored for the precise, economical measuring of large parts directly in the production environment, and in particular looks at the MMZ G, which has found application in quality assurance for gearboxes and other parts for large wind turbines.

By Hannes Daniel and Jürgen Dussling, Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik, Germany

Shermco Industries is a North American provider in wind energy power systems testing, maintenance and repair. Through established processes of on-site analysis, in-house design and application research, as well as comprehensive execution of both customer and national standards work scopes, the company delivers quality services and repairs for demanding operational requirements to all sectors. Shermco's mission is to protect the health and safety of employees, meet internal and external customer requirements and expectations, and continually improve quality management systems, processes and products. It also strives to provide competitively priced services to customers. From high-voltage equipment to small electric machines, Shermco Industries does it all.