空间框架承诺较低的风力成本

研究人员宣布了一个项目，他们说可以从根本上改变风刀片的设计和安装，将风能与化石燃料的风力成本妥善，以便在适度的风速市场中获得更多的发展。

该项目铰接在一套围绕金属空间框架周围包裹张紧建筑面料的设计，如早期的飞机翼。据估计，为了实现美国的20％风力电力的国家目标，风刀片必须更长时间，这是目前的制造方法几乎不可能的数字。拟议的设计将简化刀片的生产超过120米，因为它们可以在现场组装，因此可以降低运输成本。

A collaboration among GE, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, researchers hope to demonstrate the technology by 2015. According to GE, the design could reduce blade costs from 25% to 40%.

“We want to bring costs down to a point where we are no longer so dependent on [incentives],” said Wendy Lin, a principal engineer at GE. “If we can do that, the U.S. industry will be more consistent and blade suppliers will grow in a more stable fashion.”

使用面料以减轻重量，并在飞机上使用时提供盖子日期回到世界大战。在最近的架构中使用了类似的结构。丹佛国际机场的明白明确的美学是用面料建造的。

The fabric and spaceframe design has already found work in the wind industry. GE has used it to construct some towers because of its lighter weight and lower cost. Researchers are beginning the blade project with commercially available fabric, but as research progresses, Lin expects changes to the fabric’s composition.

Wrapping a steel frame with a fabric presents other cost savings: The clamshell molds that shape fiberglass into turbine blades cost millions to build and are part of an expensive and sensitive production process. The proposed blade architecture will be built as resilient as fiberglass, made to work for 20 years without regular maintenance to the tension on the fabric.

Still, researchers have a lot of work ahead of them. For instance, they are unsure how such blades will respond to lightning strikes. Lin says there are tradeoffs for every type of technology. While the steel frame may be a complicating factor, the fabric would be easy to replace in the event of damage. Another characteristic to consider: How will the aerodynamic qualities of a fabric blade differ from that of conventional designs?

“Developing larger wind blades is the key to expanding wind energy into areas we wouldn’t think of today as suitable for harvesting wind power,” Lin said. “Tapping into moderate wind speed markets, in places like the Midwest, will only help grow the industry in the years to come.”

GE
www.ge-energy.com/wind.

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Filed Under:设计世界文章,Green engineering
标记：GE

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