Modeling for Better Reliability
Gearboxes fail for many reasons, and determining a root cause is often difficult. As a result, more manufacturers are turning to computer models that can stress a design before it winds up at the top of a tower. Research by the Gearbox Reliability Collaborative shows that useful models need to consider more variables than many people expect. As these additional factors are added, such as housing flexibility, misalignment, and planetary mount movement, predicted reliability goes surprisingly downhill. | 
DuPont™ Nomex® Energy Solutions Webinar:
New Requirements for Electrical Equipment: Why Materials Matter — April 9, 2013
On April 9, DuPont™ Nomex® Energy Solutions will present "New Requirements for Electrical Equipment: Why Materials Matter". Learn about emerging requirements for electrical equipment design. Discover the benefits of a total system solution, and more.
Join your peers for this free, informative, and interactive ONLINE webinar — right from the convenience of your desktop. Register today! |
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Do You Have the Latest Standards?
American National Standards Institute, Inc.
ANSI has released a new section of its Web site specifically focused on wind turbine standards. Learn more about wind turbine standards covering topics as far ranging as full-scale structural testing and acoustic noise measurement, as well as a 6-part information model for communications for monitoring and control of wind power plants. | 
An Ideal Enclosure
Fibox Enclosures
Made from polycarbonate for harsh environments Fibox's, ARCA features UL, NEMA 4X/6P and IP 66/67 rating plus CE certification, this enclosure is also available in custom colors matched to PMS, FED STD 595C, or European RAL colors. |
European Recession? What Recession?
 Curious about who installed the most turbines in Europe last year? Or what towers are most popular in offshore installations? The European Wind Energy Association's annual report on offshore trends is a valuable source of these and other key technology indicators. Installed generating capacity increased 31% in 2012. Interestingly, the average turbine size remains 4 MW, in spite of the trend to bigger and bigger blades.
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Smalley Wind Power
Series
Smalley Steel Ring Company
Smalley is the leading manufacturer of Spirolox Retaining Rings and Wave Springs for the power generation industry. Smalley's standard Wind Power Series is available in up to 120 in. diameters. Standard materials sizes are stocked for production, with delivery in as little as two weeks. Ten-thousand parts are stocked in carbon and stainless steel. | 
Simulating Wind Turbine
Effects on Radar Returns
Remcom (USA)
Wind turbines located near radar installations can significantly interfere with a radar's ability to detect its intended targets. Remcom's XGtd software is a high-frequency solver capable of calculating the radar cross section of electrically large objects. In this paper, interference from wind turbines is predicted using XGtd simulations. Download the whitepaper… | 
Connector Solutions for
Wind Engines
Multi-Contact USA
Multi-Contact products suited for wind power plants: Round connectors simplify the connection between wind engine segments on-site. Fork connectors facilitate maintenance processes in the switch gear. Depending on the configuration, the modular connector CombiTac can be used in various parts of the windmill, from the switch case to the nacelle.
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Low Wind Turbines on the Rise
 Fitting the turbine to the environment is no better demonstrated than in Bavaria. With low winds and tall forests, smaller turbines on tall towers are perfect for the heavily forested region. The low wind market segment is heating up for just this reason, according to Wind Power Monthly. GE, Nordex, and other manufacturers are testing this low wind niche with a slew of 2.5 MW turbines.
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Wind Turbine Slip Rings
United Equipment Accessories,
Inc.
United Equipment Accessories' wind turbine slip rings are engineered to perform up to 75 million revolutions. UEA slip rings offer design versatility and a wide selection of circuitry. Our engineers will work with you on your specific wind turbine application to provide the highest performing quality slip ring available!
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Preassembled
Substation
Control Buildings
Trachte, Inc.
Trachte builds high-quality collector and interconnect buildings integrating all the equipment, wiring, and instrumentation needed to support wind farm operations. We have building solutions for wind power customers including wind farm developers, EPC firms, electrical and construction contractors, interconnect utilities, relay and protection panel manufacturers, OEMs, and substation packagers. | 
Reliable Fiber Optics
Solutions for Wind
Turbines
Avago Technologies
Key applications for industrial fiber optic components in wind turbine systems include: power electronic gate driver for rectifiers and inverters, control and communication boards, turbine control units, condition monitoring systems, and wind farm networking. Learn more...
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Tantalizing Teardown
 Every engineer wonders what's wearing out in a working turbine, but how many of us get to tear one apart in the middle of its lifespan? The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory did just that. They ran a 1 kW grid-connected SWIFT turbine for two years, then ripped it apart. There were the usual paint chips and wear marks on the nose cone, but the generator presented more serious issues.
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Sweep Twist Improves Performance
 Longer blades mean more power, but at some point weight and torsional stress become limiting factors. Sweep-twist blades shed turbulence loads at the tip, in much the same way whale and porpoise fins reduce drag. Renewable Energy World reports on the Star project, which crafted a prototype sweep-twist blade. In its final 56 m form, it converted turbulence into a 12% power improvement over traditional blades.
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Optical Monitors Reduce Stress
 Monitoring blade stress and wear is critical to an effective operations and maintenance program. Copper strain gauges are typically used for blade load measurement, but they suffer from limited lifetimes and calibration instability. Optical strain gauges offer several advantages, according to this study. It stresses better reliability, cleaner data, and reduced recalibration headaches.
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Sandia's Reliability CREW
 Is your maintenance and operation team effective? Benchmarking turbine uptime against industry norms is a great way to check your maintenance ROI and spot patterns before they become problems. Luckily, Sandia National Laboratories has done the basic work for you. Their Continuous Reliability Enhancement for Wind (CREW) database contains a wealth of information on predicted uptime, wind speed and generation calculations, and contributors to turbine unavailability.
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The Fight over Inner Space
 For the past 18 months the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been reviewing clearance issues inside turbine towers. OSHA expects a 30 in. clearance between the ladder and any fixed objects. In many towers, mating flanges, bolts, and other objects intrude on this space. Operators and manufacturers are holding their collective breath as they await a ruling that may require ladder relocation in hundreds, if not thousands, of towers.
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| March 18, 2013 - Volume 3 Issue 1 |
| © 2013 IHS. IHS, the IHS globe design, GlobalSpec, SpecSearch and The Engineering Web are registered trademarks of IHS, 30 Tech Valley Drive, Suite 102, East Greenbush, NY 12061 - 800.261.2052. All other products, company names, or other marks appearing in this e-newsletter are the trademarks and property of their respective owners. |
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