Advanced Materials for Lightweight Wind Turbine Systems - Proof of Market

用于轻型风力涡轮机系统的先进材料 - 市场证明

• 批准号: 700088
• 金额: $ 3.19万
• 依托单位: ALVANT LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: GRD Proof of Market
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2012 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=700088
• 关键词: Advanced; Materials; Lightweight; Wind; Turbine

This project will develop the economic case for the adoption of lightweight materials by thewind turbine industry. It will establish the financial benefits and thereby facilitate investmentin the development of lightweight turbine systems and structures.The catalyst for the introduction of light weight components is aluminium matrix composite(AMC) material. Comprising aluminium reinforced with continuous alumina fibres, AMC hasstrength and stiffness properties that exceed those of ferrous metals, at around half the weight.The use of AMC reinforcements, or inserts, within an aluminium casting (termed AAMC)produces enhanced stiffness versus a cast iron part, with no increase in package size. The UK,and CMT in particular, is a world leader in this technology.The technical feasibility of using these advanced materials for weight reduction wasestablished in a Northern Way funded project undertaken in 2010/11. The ‘LightweightTurbine Gearbox Feasibility Study’ demonstrated weight savings of over 25% in gearbox castcomponents by replacing cast iron with AAMC. The material is suitable for application tomany other turbine systems, in addition to the gearbox.An AAMC component will be more expensive than its cast iron or steel equivalent. However,by decreasing the weight of nacelle components, the costs of towers, installation andtransportation will reduce, lowering the capital and operational costs of wind farms,particularly those offshore. Operational savings will be achieved via improved durability andreliability.Generation of the economic case for weight reduction must include all of these factors,analysed to identify the cumulative cost savings for the wind farm operator and the returns oninvestment for the system supplier and turbine manufacturer. The project will identify thesystem that will benefit most from the use of AAMC, in terms of weight reduction andfunctional improvement, so as to provide a target for future product development.

该项目将为风力涡轮机行业采用轻质材料提供经济案例。它将确立经济效益，从而促进轻型涡轮机系统和结构的开发投资。采用轻型部件的催化剂是铝基复合材料（AMC）。AMC由连续氧化铝纤维增强的铝组成，其强度和刚度性能超过黑色金属，重量约为黑色金属的一半。在铝铸件（称为AAMC）中使用AMC增强件或插入件，与铸铁零件相比，可提高刚度，而不会增加包装尺寸。英国，特别是CMT，是该技术的世界领导者。使用这些先进材料减轻重量的技术可行性是在2010/11年进行的北方资助项目中确定的。“轻型涡轮机齿轮箱可行性研究”表明，用AAMC替代铸铁，齿轮箱铸件重量减轻了25%以上。除了齿轮箱外，这种材料还适用于任何其他涡轮机系统。AAMC部件比铸铁或钢部件更昂贵。然而，通过减少机舱部件的重量，塔架、安装和运输的成本将降低，从而降低风电场的资本和运营成本，特别是那些海上风电场。通过提高耐用性和可靠性，可实现运营节约。减重的经济案例必须包括所有这些因素，并进行分析，以确定风电场运营商的累积成本节约以及系统供应商和涡轮机制造商的投资回报。该项目将确定在减轻重量和功能改进方面从使用AAMC中受益最大的系统，以便为未来的产品开发提供目标。