RECASE tests the prototype plant at CWD Aachen

RECASE Regenerative Energien GmbH performed the full-scale test of a two-bladed SCD 3 MW at the Centre for Wind Power Drives (CWD) of the RWTH Aachen on behalf of the company aerodyn engineering GmbH.

The tested wind turbine prototype was developed by aerodyn on behalf of the Japanese government and will be tested as a demonstrator on a floating foundation from summer 2018 on at the offshore test field of Kitakyūshū in the south of Japan.

RECASE has been commissioned to support the development of the electro-technical design of the wind turbine and to test the constructed prototype before it will be transported to Japan within a 3-week large-scale test in cooperation with the RWTH Aachen.

The state-of-the-art test bench of the CWD provides all options to study the mechanical, electrical and thermal behaviour of a newly developed wind turbine at different wind loads.  With the help of power units of 4 MW loads, which are similar to those of the real wind field, will be applied to the powertrain of the wind turbine, at which any load cases are simulated and measurement series can undergo. Furthermore, the test bench of the CWD allows to perform market-specific tests for grid requirements (e.g. Fault Ride Through Tests), which can even be used for certification purposes.

Jörg Zeumer, Project Engineer and Project Manager of the company RECASE for the prototype test at the CWD: “The conditions provided at the CWD are great. Measurement campaigns, which would require several months if we needed to perform them on the field, can be performed very compressed and sometimes within a few hours.”

The results of the prototype plant of the Company aerodyn on the test bench were positive all the way through. All set test requirements could be fulfilled or partially even surpassed. After the successful test, the plant is now on its way to Japan.