Wind/Energy

Wind/Energy 25 Jan 2013

U.S. playing catch-up in offshore wind race

With excellent wind resources off the U.S. East Coast, it's high time wind energy developers start investing in the region. A promising start might be underway off the coast of Maine, where Statoil is working to develop a floating turbine.

Wind/Energy 31 Dec 2012

Bi-angle fabrics find first commercial application

Bicycle manufacturer sees dramatic productivity gains using unbalanced fabrics conceived at Stanford University and manufactured by Chomarat.

Carbon Fibers 31 Dec 2012

Waiting for $5/lb carbon fiber?

HPC editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan suggests we say goodbye to $5/lb carbon fiber and expect that composites will earn their way onto autos by saving drivers money.

Wind/Energy 1 Dec 2012

WTTC opens upsized wind blade test facility

The Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC, Boston, Mass.) opened its $35 million+ wind blade testing facility on May 18, 2011, the only lab in the U.S. that can test blades up to 90m/295-ft long.

Pressure Vessels 1 Dec 2012

UMaine’s Offshore Wind lab sports 70m/230-ft testing … and more

The Offshore Wind Laboratory’s new wind turbine blade test lab, part of a 38,700-ft² (3,595m²) expansion of the University of Maine’s (UMaine) AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center (Orono, Maine), was first announced in February 2009.

Pressure Vessels 1 Dec 2012

In Europe: Fraunhofer-IWES, NaREC Take Blade testing to 100m/328 ft

Two rotor blade testing facilities in Europe have answered the call for testing capability that will accommodate today’s longer blade designs for offshore wind turbines with newly constructed blade test sites.Fraunhofer-Institut für Windenergie und Energiesystemtechnik (IWES, Bremerhaven, Germany), the first to complete its expanded facility, is now able to test 90m/295-ft blades, up from 70m/230-ft test lengths two years ago.

Wind/Energy 30 Nov 2012

Tidal turbine blade toughened for turbulent salt sea

Demonstrator design proves robust blade destined for 10-MW tidal turbine farm.

Weaving 1 Nov 2012

Structural health monitoring: Angling for the air

Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for composite aerostructures have been slow to deliver on their promise, but a system developed by Luna Technologies (Roanoke, Va.) is on a glide path to implementation on in-service aircraft