Media Relations

Researchers from DTU and Fraunhofer IWES will - together with further partners - develop a design for a 40 meter blade with intentionally inserted errors, manufacture it and test it, in order to improve the understanding of a blade´s structural behavior and validate damage models. The vision is a digital twin of every blade manufactured that would allow a permanent condition monitoring for the entire life cycle.

Together with 14 project partners, Fraunhofer IWES, in the role of coordinator, launched the BladeFactory project at the beginning of October. IWES researchers will develop and test production methods with the aim of reducing the production time for rotor blades.  

Cylinders and mechanics for the application of real wind loads for the bearing test rig in Hamburg have been installed and are now operational. As such, the researchers are well within the schedule, which envisages commissioning of the entire test rig by the end of the year.

Fraunhofer IWES has now extended its index for the German Bight for the year 2017. The index provides information on how high the maximum available natural energy yield was compared to previous years.  

Work recently got under way on the Institute’s latest construction project, a 250 m² hall for generator/converter systems in the direct vicinity of the nacelle test stand in Bremerhaven/Germany. The new test stand is set to accelerate electrical certification testing of wind energy turbines at considerably lower costs than testing a whole nacelle.