Stefan Franzen
RWTH Aachen University,Germany
Title: Capabilities of wind turbine ground test facilities
Biography
Biography: Stefan Franzen
Abstract
IEA Wind Task 35 intends to address the demand for reliable and cost-effective ground testing of wind turbines. The experts from research testing facilities, OEMs, test rig manufacturer and certification bodies work together in Task 35 to develop recommendations for standardized test methods. Several public and private blade test facilities around the world are about to harmonize blade test methods, uncertainty estimation, non-destructive inspections and subcomponent testing for the advancement of the present certification processes and to improve extant basic test procedures. The recent established nacelle test laboratories (US, DK, GB, DE, CN, ES) collaborate to develop new kinds of tests for design and model validation as well as to facilitate and improve the type certification using ground tests. An overview of blade and nacelle test center is useful for the customer to compare common and unique testing capabilities. Significant blade test criteria include maximum blade length, excitation for fatigue tests and horizontal or vertical bending techniques. Nacelle test criteria include type, maximum torque and speed of prime mover, degrees of freedom, maximum forces and bending moments of the wind load application system as well as the grid load emulation capabilities such as fault ride through scenarios and the real time emulation of grid and the wind field. In near future both blade and nacelle test facilities shall be capable of performing the same standardized test with equivalent results at the same confidence level. The presentation gives an overview of the various nacelle and blade test capabilities, test approaches and benefits.