New Canadian carbon fiber tidal generator has passed 20-year accelerated life test
New Canadian carbon fiber tidal generator has passed 20-year accelerated life test
Through engineering partner Schottel Hydro (Germany) in conjunction with the MaREI Centre at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway), Sustainable Marine (Nova Scotia, Canada) reports that its new carbon fiber tidal generators have proven that they can survive working in that field condition for up to twenty years. Rigorously tested by the Ryan Institute and School of Engineering at the National University of Ireland Galway, a marine energy center that reportedly has a 375-square-meter structural research lab. The project was delivered under Marinet2, part of the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, which supports offshore renewable energy testing across the European Union (EU).
Sustainable Marine's new floating tidal energy system reportedly uses a common drive train and two different blade diameters, 6.3 meters and 4 meters, to meet the requirements of different resource locations. According to the company, the generator design includes a fixed-pitch blade made of carbon fiber to achieve bending and pitch under overload conditions. This "passive adaptive" mass helps reduce structural loads on the generator, allowing for smaller, more cost-effective components.
After completing extensive testing of the 6.3-meter blade at NUI Galway, the company returned to its Irish facility to evaluate the performance of its shorter 4-meter blade, which is designed for more robust resource sites. Importantly, an "accelerated life test" was conducted in a state-of-the-art laboratory, subjecting the blades to conditions equivalent to 20 years of field operation in just a few weeks. It covers a wide range of parameters, including stress, strain and vibration.
"We are excited to return to NUI Galway and expand our relationship with this world-class testing and research facility," said Ralf Starzmann, Vice President of Business Development at Sustainable Marine. "This international collaboration through our German engineering partner Schottel Hydro is a strong indication of our ambition to continue raising the bar and pushing the boundaries of tidal generator technology. In order to push the boundaries, we must challenge our solutions in leading facilities that can push the limits of our technology."
Starzmann said accelerated life testing is an essential process that allows Sustainable Marine to rapidly accelerate normal conditions to better understand the structure's response over time. "Our new 4-meter rotor blades have proven to be 'ultra-durable,'" he says, "giving us confidence in the design and structural integrity. Reliability is a key factor in the development of tidal generators, especially as we are now moving toward our first commercial project."
A complete analysis at NUI Galway's MaREI Center tested blade behavior under fatigue loading, examining aspects such as torsional deflection and overall structural performance. further in-house testing conducted by Schottel Hydro included extreme loads and testing blade integrity up to failure.
Sustainable Marine is currently preparing for delivery in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, of what is claimed to be the world's first floating tidal energy array. Earlier this year, it launched its new 420 kW PLAT-I 6.40 floating tidal energy platform with new 4 m composite blades, which is currently being commissioned and tested in the waters of Grand Passage.
Professor Jamie Goggins, Director of Research and Innovation at the NUI Galway School of Engineering, added: "With shorter blades and significantly higher loads than wind blades, dedicated tidal power blade structural testing facilities are required to support the tidal energy industry. We have been fortunate to receive significant investment from the European Commission through Horizon 2020 and from the Irish Government through Science Foundation Ireland [SFI] and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland [SEAI] to support our development of a world-leading tidal turbine blade testing facility."
In addition to the de-risking of Sustainable Marine's full-size blades, Goggins noted that the project will help make the marine sector commercially viable and help train the next generation of energy engineers. "To date, we have over 100 engineers working as employees or students within our group and continue to work with some of the world's leading companies," he concluded.