Development and feasibility study of segment blade test methodology

Abstract

This paper outlines a novel segment test methodology for wind turbine rotor blades. The segment test mainly aims at improving the efficiency of the fatigue test as a future test method at Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES). While resulting in reduced testing times, target fatigue bending moments over the intended test area have to be matched within an acceptable range of overload. The numerical simulation reveals that the proposed segment testing has a significant time savings of up to 43 % and 52 % for 60 and 90 m blades. When compared to the experimental data of a 60 m full-length blade fatigue test, the proposed methodology also shows better test quality over the intended area and better certifiable regions over the outboard area.