SGS Wind: SGS Wind Energy Technology Center provides Full-Scale Wind Turbine Blade Testing for Large Wind Turbine Component Supplier

Geneva, the 10th August 2011. Wind turbine blades are subjected to highly demanding forces during their operational life and wind turbine blade failures can have a severe impact on safety, turbine downtime and public exposure.

In order to validate the lifetime of the blades and minimize the risks from design flaws and manufacturing defects, the client, which is one of the world’s leading component suppliers to the wind turbine industry, looked for a reliable inspection, verification, testing and certification company.

The SGS Wind Energy Technology Center (WETC) in Tianjin, China is the first third-party testing center for wind turbine blades in Asia and was awarded a contract to carry out full-scale Wind Turbine Blade Testing on June 30, 2011.

For the entire duration of the contract, SGS will conduct frequency, static and fatigue tests of a new blade design in accordance with the IEC-61400-23 standard. During frequency testing, SGS’s team of highly-skilled engineers measure rotor blade displacement and analyze the natural frequencies of the blade, whereas during static testing blade deflection and strains are measured at pre-determined locations for all required loading directions. For fatigue tests, an exciter saddle with linear masses is mounted to the rotor blade and the dynamic load distribution and amplitude are adjusted to represent 20 years of cyclic field loads.

Applying a wide portfolio of services for Wind Turbine Blade Testing, the SGS Wind Energy Technology Center will provide the project owner with comprehensive certification testing, in compliance with IEC-61400-23, to ensure the best quality of the new wind turbine blade design.

About the SGS Wind Energy Technology Center

Strategically located in China, a rapidly growing wind-energy market, the SGS Wind Energy Technology Center (WETC) primarily focuses on Rotor Blade Testing. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology for load application and blade test measurements, such as hydraulic winches, vibration actuators and LVDT displacement equipment, the SGS test center offers a complete set of full-scale blade testing capabilities, including natural frequency, static, fatigue and ultimate static tests, as well as a full range of consultancy and solutions in the field of wind turbine technologies.

On a plot of 10,343 m2 and with a gross floor area of 3,786 m2, the SGS test center, which is accredited according to ISO 17025, provides various testing solutions covering the entire lifecycle of wind turbines. Visual Inspections are carried out and Non-Destructive Testing methods are used to monitor the condition of blades. The execution and reporting of tests are performed according to IEC-61400-23 with optional witnessing by certification bodies.

About SGS Renewable Energy Services

To protect wind energy project investments and assure the quality of wind farms, SGS Industrial Services works as an independent global project surveyor; carrying out inspection, testing, supervision, monitoring, management, verification and certification services for both onshore and offshore wind farm projects. For each phase of a wind farm project, SGS offers a wide range of Renewable Energy Services. SGS understands the risks entailed in wind farm projects and has precise knowledge of local legal and regulatory requirements.

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 67,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,250 offices and laboratories around the world.