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- Category: Articles
Advances in Textiles for Vacuum Infusion Processing
Wind power's portrayal as a 100% clean source of renewable energy bodes well for those seeking a power source with little environmental impact. Nevertheless, to stay true to this green promise, we mustn't lose sight of the carbon footprint laid down prior to the generation of electricity. Composite materials, acknowledged as an enabler of the green promise, can contribute greatly to this footprint. In recognition of this reality, manufacturers' have turned from open mould processing to closed mould vacuum infusion processing.By Patrick Mack, Chief Technologist, Polynova Composites, USA
- Category: Articles
The Effects of Rolling Element Bearing Stiffness on Wind Turbine Planetary Gearbox Dynamics
This article details the effect of including accurate stiffness models of rolling element bearings in the dynamic simulation of planetary wind turbine gearboxes and discusses the frequently neglected subject of bearings' contribution to the dynamic behaviour of turbine gearboxes.By Richard Dorling, Romax Technology, UK
- Category: Articles
Floating, Autonomous, Environmentally Friendly and Efficient Desalination Unit
Global warming is an emerging threat to water availability and to the quality of life in isolated island communities in southern Europe. Isolated small islands in the Mediterranean region already experience the problem of scarce water sources during the dry summer period. Climate change is likely to further aggravate this situation in the coming years and therefore alternative water sources have to be investigated in these areas.
By Theodore Lilas and Nikitas Nikitakos, University of Aegean, Department of Shipping Trade and Transport, and Anthanasios Vatistas, ECOWINDWATER Ltd, Greece
- Category: Articles
Jacket Substructures for the REpower 5M Wind Turbine
Support structures for offshore?application, especially in deeper waters, have?been identified by?many?sources as being able to make a?vital contribution to cost-effective?installations. Larger turbines, such as?the REpower 5M, demand significantly?stronger support structures than smaller turbines. REpower has gained experience?with jacket substructures for the?REpower 5M turbine?in recent projects. The?conclusions from this experience?will be?summarised in this article.
By Marc Seidel, REpower Systems AG, Germany
- Category: Articles
Designed for Documenting Fast Transients in High-Voltage Grids of Large Wind Farms
Although wind power development is still mainly based on land sites, a number of large offshore wind farms have been developed, and there are significant plans for further offshore wind power development, This development produces a need for accurate models of all main components in a wind farm because simulations are widely used to predict what happens in case of faults and switching operations in the grid. The result of simulations can always be questioned, and depends on the accuracy of the component models used in the simulation program. Validation of simulations with reliable measurements performed in a real large wind farm makes it possible to verify and improve the simulations and to give more reliable results. DELTA has built a system for measuring fast transients synchronously in three different locations on a wind farm.By L.S. Christensen, P.E. Sørensen, T. Olsen, H.K. Nielsen and T. Sørensen, Denmark
- Category: Articles
Measurements of Angular Velocity, Pitch Angle and Perpendicularity of Individual Rotor Blades
The ever-increasing strain on the traditional exploration of natural resources to provide for the worldwide demand for energy is paving the way for the wind turbine sector. We are seeing a dramatic increase in the number and size of wind turbines, producing more watts by the day. Our sector has no shortage of technological needs, but no shortage of creative minds either. Nowadays, commercial and academic institutions are reaping the benefits of joint developments. One of many exciting new developments combines the hands-on knowledge of wind turbine mechanics with photosensor technology. This article details a reliable and accurate method for measuring angular velocities, rotor blade pitch angles and the perpendicularity of individual rotor blades using vision technology. The necessary technology is packaged into a commercial service for quick and cost-effective monitoring.By Joris Goos, Delft Vision and Geodelta, and Gerard Ruesink and Ivo Lubbers, Compositive Works, The Netherlands
- Category: Articles
Techno-Economic Benefits
Various technical solutions are available for condition monitoring (CM) of wind farms. The technical and economic benefits of CM systems are the subject of debate between manufacturers and operators. Manufacturers state that CM systems lower operation costs via optimised maintenance scheduling and resource management. Operators are keen for the techno-economic benefits to be demonstrated before they switch from time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance. In particular, the merits of monitoring individual sub-components are unclear. This article presents a method that has been developed to estimate the techno-economic benefits of individual wind farm CM options based on a combination of industry experience and publicly available data.By David McMillan, Institute for Energy & Environment, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, UK
