Over the years, we have witnessed rapid growth in both onshore and offshore wind turbine systems. At the same time, the entire wind industry has become even more competitive, as wind turbine manufacturers aim to launch their product on the…
Authors: Dr.-Ing. Matthias Stammler, Karsten Behnke Whenever we have the opportunity to look at damaged bearings, we as scientists love to do so. Be it the bearings we tested in our own lab or bearings directly from the field, it…
Author: M. Sc. Sarah Zwick Fraunhofer IWES Wind Lidar Buoys floated in the German Bight, east of the Bard Offshore 1 wind farm, at times last year. These yellow buoys ensure that comprehensive wind measurement data and meteorological parameters can…
Ever since the construction of the first wind farms began in the 1980s, the impact of wind turbines on the flow – the wake effect – has been a major focus not only in the field of wind energy research…
Efficient use of materials and a long lifespan are important KPIs in the optimization of offshore wind turbines. For future, larger support structures, which are particularly expected in wind farms at greater water depths, the behavior of the foundations, in…
When the wind passes through the rotor disc of a wind turbine with its rotating blades, the wind speed behind the turbine is reduced – the turbine extracts kinetic energy from the wind to convert it into electrical energy. This…
Many analyses in the field of wind energy are based on virtual models. However, these simulation models are not freely available for every real wind turbine. Fraunhofer IWES solves this problem with an innovative approach. Researchers at IWES are currently…
Part 3: Rapid testing of blade bearings – The first endurance run. In Part 1, I introduced the idea of an accelerated endurance run for blade bearings, which would consist of all wear-inducing cycles in direct succession. In Part 2,…
The deformation under load and the load distribution within the bearing are of great significance for the design of large rolling bearings such as rotor blade bearings. FE models are indispensable when it comes to determining the load distribution and…
Authors: Karoline Pelka and Dr.-Ing. Katharina Fischer Power converters are among the most frequently failing components of wind turbines. The causes remained unexplained for many years. Seasonal failure patterns point to environmental influences and shift the focus to the climatic…
