R&D is building one of the world’s largest test benches for LORC

The test bench functions primarily as a wind load simulator for highly accelerated life-cycle testing (HALT) of wind turbines. The hydraulic Test Load Unit functions as the wind simulator and can simultaneously replicate the reactions of the wind on the main axle of the test subject using three forces and three torque levels. The Test Load Unit can add a bending moment of up to 25MNm to the test subject in addition to the drive motor system and drivetrain, which can add a torque of 14.5MNm to the test subject. The test bench is thus a large mechanical, hydraulic and electrical wind tunnel for accelerated fatigue tests.
The drive train includes the world's largest flexible clutch with a built-in safety device, which limits the torque in case of driving line errors. The consequences of uncontrollable errors can be severe when the test subjects weigh 400 tons.

R&D has obtained the experience and the competences required for the full responsibility of a delivery this large and complex. ”One of the biggest challenges when developing heavy-duty system solutions is to have the right understanding of the system, ” Peter Kattai Ulrikkeholm says, Business Unit Director at R&D. ”It requires both the right competences and many years of work to get the right experience. In recent years, we have seen an increase in projects where we have the primary responsibility for the turnkey system, which is another reason why we are capable of the project in question.”

R&D has all the competences needed including project management, mechanics, power, automation, software and hydraulics as well as installation and maintenance. ”It is very beneficial to have all the competences internally when working on turnkey systems, ” Peter Kattai Ulrikkeholm says. ”This way, we ensure that all parts of the solution are considered already during the designing phase. At the same time, we can also control all of the elements of the process better and act quickly if a question arises or there is a need for changes in the development process.”

The preliminary work on the HALT test bench for LORC began several years ago and included the experience from a collaboration with Aalborg University in a EUDP project. In this project, R&D developed, tested and constructed a demonstration of the HALT test bench for accelerated tests of lifetime of wind turbines scaled down to ¼ of the normal size. The experience from this development work has provided some valuable input for the solution to LORC.

The first initiatives towards the new test bench were begun in spring 2015 and R&D has already used the first 3,000-4,000 hours working on the project. The employees at R&D will work intensively throughout the next year to construct and install the test bench as LORC has already lined up the first customers for their new testing facilities.

The LORC delivery provides new opportunities for R&D. ”We have been among the world’s leading companies in developing and constructing heavy-duty test benches for the wind industry for several years, ” Peter Kattai Ulrikkeholm says. ”This delivery brings us into a different league and it has been confirmed that the market sees us as the right collaborator for the largest projects. In the future, we will use this for other industries,” he concludes.