The University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center has completed static strength testing of a 56 metre or 184 foot wind turbine blade for Gamesa, a Spanish producer of wind industry technology.
The blade which was subjected to loads in four directions to prove the structure met international strength standards was produced in North America and delivered to the University in late August.The University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center has completed static strength testing of a 56 metre or 184 foot wind turbine#
According to the University, the Gamesa blade was the largest tested to date in the UMaine Offshore Wind Laboratory.
The full-service facility offers testing and material characterization services for every stage of blade development.
“Habib Dagher, director of the UMaine Composites Center says, “This is the biggest structure we have tested to date, extending nearly 80 per cent of the length of our blade test lab.”
“Our engineers, technicians and students did a great job designing, building and operating the equipment needed to safely rotate and test the 56-metre blade,” says John Arimond, business development executive at UMaine Composites Center.
Arimond joined UMaine in 2013 after 28 years in the industry, most recently serving as CTO of a New Zealand-based manufacturer of 500-kilowatt wind turbines.
Juan Diego Díaz, marketing director for Gamesa, informs his company is excited to be partnering with UMaine for blade testing.
“We were impressed by the testing quality, safety and attention to detail provided by the UMaine team in successfully testing our blade,” Díaz adds.
With 20 years experience and more than 30,000 megawatts installed in 46 countries, Gamesa is a technological leader in the wind industry and has been present in the North America for more than 10 years.
Its end-to-end value chain presence encompasses wind turbine design, manufacture, installation and operations and maintenance of over 20,000 MW.
The University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center’s research staff helps clients create innovations from concept through design, modeling, prototyping, testing and code compliance reporting.
The 9,300-square-meter, $110 million, ISO 17025-accredited laboratory has a successful history of partnering with industry, completing over 500 product development and testing projects in the past five years.
The lab, which opened in 2011, was funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Maine Technology Asset Fund and a 2010 Maine bond. (AR)
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