In the Smart Blades project, researchers from the Research Alliance Wind Energy (FVWE) developed new concepts for intelligent rotor blades which can adapt to the wind.
The project was a three-year research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) with € 12 million. The ideal solution would be rotor blades which are able to adapt their geometry to suit the local wind conditions. This is made possible by active and passive technologies which allow individual rotor blades to adjust to the prevailing wind conditions – so-called smart blades. The Smart Blades project was a joint effort between researchers from the FVWE together with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Fraunhofer IWES and ForWind, the Center for Wind Energy Research of the Universities of Oldenburg, Hanover and Bremen aimed at investigating the effect of these technologies.
