AkzoNobel’s new wind turbine blade testing facility allows different weather conditions to be simulated to enable researchers to enhance rain erosion tests.
The international paints and coatings manufacturer AkzoNobel
has recently inaugurated a wind turbine blade testing facility at its Felling-based site (United Kingdom), a state-of-the-art facility equipped to conduct simulations.
This investment aims to enhance the development of AkzoNobel's international protective coatings brand, crucial for wind farms worldwide. As a matter of fact, the facility boasts the capability to simulate diverse global weather conditions – thus enabling researchers to increase rain erosion tests threefold on a weekly basis. Furthermore, its "helicopter" test can achieve speeds up to 176 meters per second at full capacity.
“Today marks an exciting new chapter in our long history of supporting sustainable innovation and product development. Bringing this type of world class testing in-house – where we can immediately generate the data, analyse results and prolong testing periods – will transform our contribution to innovation in the wind energy sector. As one of the market leaders, we’ll be able to participate in a more meaningful way in lifetime prediction discussions on protective coating systems for wind turbine blades,” has stated Ralph Slikkerveer, R&D Director of AkzoNobel’s Marine and Protective Coatings business.
Moreover, to support the ultra-high-speed tests, the new facility has been fitted with a 1,000-liter water recycling tank. During testing, the water flow rates, and both the water and air temperatures can be adjusted as required.
“The protective coatings we’ll be testing will help to future-proof our customers’ blades, so they can withstand the most extreme weather conditions. We’ll now be able to perform more cost-effective and accelerated testing on new products, offering the best possible solutions for our customers at a time when global investment in wind projects continues to grow,” has added Ralph Slikkerveer.