Spun by the wind... Strain gauge
The importance of renewable energies is growing and we cannot imagine the national and international landscape appearance without wind power stations.The share of wind power stations of renewable energies cannot only be run up by an increase of installations as nobody prefers to live in a forest of wind power stations. An important factor remains in particular the size and efficiency of the station it-self.
Both characteristics are limited technically as well as physically and the producers of wind power stations are more or less approaching dynamically these limits. Marginal mechanical systems with tower heights of 150m, rotor diameters of more than 120m, effective outputs up to the double-digit megawatt range and the use of new lighter construction material need a complete and secure system of monitoring components.
Pulsotronic supplies successfully for more than 30 years sensors to producers of wind power stations and offers customised solutions for the most diverse sensor principles. Together with a leading German plant manufacturer, we were confronted with the task to control the incalculable expansion characteristics of fibre-composits. The pulpit of a wind power station is always exposed to environmental impacts like heat/coldness, drought/rain, storm/ice. Because of its characteristics, under these influences the fibre-composit is operating in each dimension. Meanwhile, the mechanical strain of the rotating wind power stations leads to expansions that under no circumstances should be exceeded.
With the new strain gauge sensors of Pulsotronic, the plant manufacturer protects the blade adapter at the rotor base against a defined overload. The sensor supplies an anlogue output signal that controls the steering of the wind power station up to a shut down value. In doing so, the following environmental influences are already compensated: heat, freeze and transverse extend through the construction and the electronics of the sensor etc. Only the original longitudinal extend through the workload of the station leads to a change of the signal at the senor output. Meanwhile, the producer uses the recorded signal behaviour to adapt its maintenance intervals at the station and is therefore optimising the expenses in after sales.
In serial production we deliver ready-for-assembly confection and packaging and are therefore making the installation easier for the fitters in the factory or at the station.