An Evaluation Framework on Additive Manufacturing for Hydraulic Systems in Wind Turbines Focused on System Simplification

Abstract

The wind energy industry showed rapid growth in the past decade, pushing designs to the physical limits. In the last few years, the exponential growth of the wind turbine sizes capped, and the performance upgrades are reached with optimization processes. The first wave was on major parts, but with time advancing the “cost out” strategies are pushed to minor components. A major problem is service costs and the continuous search for missing spare parts in the market. The main aim of this study is to identify when is the best entry point for the additive manufacturing (AM) technology by the hydraulic manufacturer wind turbine companies. From the commercial application for expensive prototypes, it has evolved to economical home use applications. The newly available machines allow printing parts with competing precision to machining equivalents. The material selections range from plastics to metals with mechanical properties equally good or better. This project aims to provide a comprehensive review of the implementation of AM for hydraulic systems in wind turbines. Application screening was done by desk research and on AM technologies. Scientific research has been found on the topic for benchmarking, viability, and cost models. It has been found that there are still missing data for the mechanical properties of the available materials. The result of the decision-weighted matrix shows that the business could gain a competitive advantage by the AM implementation in terms of resources savings and productivity. Although from the technological and market perspective it is justified to initiate before further action the business should review its organization viability.

Repurposing and recycling wind turbine blades in the United States

“…15 In 2000, the average rotor diameter for a turbine installed in the U.S. was 48 m. The average rotor diameter of turbines installed in 2019 was 121 m and 96% of all turbines installed had rotor diameters of at least 110 m. 16 Therefore, the overall system's simplification in various ways in the future has become a top priority for the industry. 17 Reusing a blade's material after reformatting in some way (i.e., mechanical, chemical, and thermal) is easiest for transportation, which is the main barrier for whole blade repurposing. 18 The main issues for reusing reformatted material are identifying processing locations, applications for which the material's properties are most suitable, and selling the material at a competitive price.…”

“…In 2000, the average rotor diameter for a turbine installed in the U.S. was 48 m. The average rotor diameter of turbines installed in 2019 was 121 m and 96% of all turbines installed had rotor diameters of at least 110 m 16 . Therefore, the overall system's simplification in various ways in the future has become a top priority for the industry 17 …”

Design and experiment of fuzzy-PID based tillage depth control system for a self-propelled electric tiller

“…Mohammadikia et al [15] applied fuzzy control theory to design an interval-2-type fractionalorder fuzzy PID (FPID) strategy, which effectively reduces uneven surface fluctuations during tractor driving. Shafaei et al [16] developed fuzzy depth and draft control system to decrease variations in plowing depth as well as increase tractive efficiency of a moderate power tractor in primary tillage operations with mounted implements. The fuzzy control strategy has a good effect on the intelligent control of nonlinear systems.…”