Hand over of BEAT 6.1 test bench to FRAUNHOFER IWES
Blade bearing test stand for large scale next generation wind turbines
The BEAT 6.1 test bench for large windturbine bearings, designed and supplied by IDOM to Fraunhofer IWES, has been handed over to the client this last February after having been successfully commissioned in Hamburg.
The turnkey project (design, manufacturing, assembly and commissioning) was awarded to IDOM in the summer of 2017. Following the completion of the mechanical, hydraulic and electrical assemblies in record time during the summer of 2018, the commissioning works of the test bench and data acquisition systems were carried out during the last quarter of 2018. The acceptance tests by the client have been successfully carried out in early 2019.
To add to its research infrastructure, Fraunhofer IWES decided to undertake, in Bergedorf (Hamburg), the construction of technologically advanced test facilities for blade bearings on next generation wind turbines. This is how the BEAT 6.1 project came about, a high-performance test bench capable of testing bearings of up to 6.5 m in diameter with unprecedented dynamic capabilities and precision to date.
The innovative design developed by IDOM is based on an 8-meter-high, Stewart Platform with an 11.5-meter diameter, powered by 6 hydraulic servo-actuators (each with a 350-ton capacity, and equipped with precise load cells) that are able to apply, both statically and dynamically, high loads and moments on a set of bearings (specimens) simulating, in an accelerated way, the efforts to which they will be subjected during their useful life.
The features of the bench are complemented by an additional cylinder that simulates the pitch movement of the wind turbine blade and a series of adapters and steel and composite parts that emulate the rigidity of the hub and blade./p>
The BEAT 6.1 test bench permits the testing of bearings, of up to 6.5 m in diameter, with unprecedented dynamic capabilities and simulation of realistic conditions.
More on the hand over of the test stand to Fraunhofer in link below:
Fraunhofer IWES News
