CPI Supports Work on Next Generation Wind Turbine Blades
29 Oct 2018
The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) has provided support to help move forward the development of next generation wind turbine blades.
Working with ACT Blade Limited, CPI carried out testing to help the SME advance its unique renewable energy technology.
The Scotland-based company has engineered a turbine blade with the potential to be lighter and longer compared to existing market alternatives, which works to increase energy generation while reducing electricity costs.
CPI’s main involvement in the project centred upon validation testing, to ensure ACT Blade’s product is strong enough to withstand a decade of offshore operation.
In conjunction with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, based in Blyth, Northumberland, CPI provided advanced materials testing to drive fundamental understanding of their interaction and generated data for materials modelling.
It also provided the ability to predictively forecast behaviour for lifespan and repair scheduling.
Dr Graeme Cruickshank, Director of Formulation at CPI, said: “By supporting our customer with this validation testing, they will be in a position to provide this critical data to the manufacturers to grow confidence in the development of the product, which is vital for future success.”
![The blade is prepared for testing The blade is prepared for testing](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/act-blade-blade-ii.jpg?w=1920&h=1080&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559219155&s=2a11c46e03452e9a2f0482d4bb789b96 1920w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/act-blade-blade-ii.jpg?w=1120&h=630&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559219155&s=467a0a025917338670daf662348594fc 1120w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/act-blade-blade-ii.jpg?w=2240&h=1260&q=45&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559219155&s=8c1eaa0a034d73ddd11c9ce8ed293d7d 2240w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/act-blade-blade-ii.jpg?w=800&h=450&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559219155&s=3917cedb07e0a76ef5f55354e51344f6 800w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/act-blade-blade-ii.jpg?w=1600&h=900&q=45&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559219155&s=3f538691d88c7fa4d7d4f34218c9e207 1600w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/act-blade-blade-ii.jpg?w=480&h=270&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559219155&s=7ab4f8cf5cecf1e8f84a8d4bc98120f1 480w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/act-blade-blade-ii.jpg?w=960&h=540&q=45&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559219155&s=98bdc08451a0f54d41af6dc9f98952b8 960w)
Praising CPI’s support, Dr Donald MacVicar, ACT Blade Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, said: “We needed an organisation that had expertise and equipment for testing textiles to determine the lifetime of the material under our dynamic loading conditions.
“The work here was the first step to characterise the long-term creep behaviour of the material.
“Test facilities with the flexibility to run non-standard tests are difficult to find, so the results have provided useful input for the next phase of the development.”
![Working out of its state-of-the-art NETPark-based formulation facility, CPI has helped ACT Blade Limited advance its renewable energy technology Working out of its state-of-the-art NETPark-based formulation facility, CPI has helped ACT Blade Limited advance its renewable energy technology](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/formulation-building.jpg?w=1920&h=1080&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559221354&s=27dc088a6bb5dbf4cc0bc0d315322fcb 1920w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/formulation-building.jpg?w=1120&h=630&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559221354&s=a5982897af3e8788a0f6abd1c9e3922c 1120w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/formulation-building.jpg?w=2240&h=1260&q=45&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559221354&s=fcb5b1479e90dc63bb219cad17e3754d 2240w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/formulation-building.jpg?w=800&h=450&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559221354&s=ea87f1bf8170145785e850eff24dda12 800w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/formulation-building.jpg?w=1600&h=900&q=45&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559221354&s=e6e9fb7fea7202f080d14aad94265274 1600w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/formulation-building.jpg?w=480&h=270&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559221354&s=3b3a0b58369e65821ecc67482a6ca5ac 480w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/smart-hoopoe/production/content/images/formulation-building.jpg?w=960&h=540&q=45&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1559221354&s=0293b8fa41ea2c5a010df9236b8fdf78 960w)
Commenting on the project, ORE Catapult’s Audrey Bowie said: “Thanks to funding secured by ORE Catapult, the world’s first small textile blade has been produced and is now being tested.
“The textile blade has the potential to massively reduce the cost of offshore wind and we are very excited about its future.
“This is just one example of how technology can be adapted from one sector to create something genuinely ground-breaking in another industry.”
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