Dynamic Load\nMonitoring (UK) Ltd. (DLM), of Southampton, UK has provided a wireless weighing\nsolution for MHI Vestas Offshore Wind\u2019s facility at nearby Fawley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MHI Vestas\nneeded an accurate way of measuring the weight of their 80m-long turbine blades\n(the length of nine London buses back-to-back) at both the root and the tip\nupon completion of the painting process. The blades are actually made on the\nIsle of Wight before being transported to Fawley for painting and weighing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accuracy is\ncritical as once the blades are weighed they are classified as light, medium\nand heavy for use on each turbine. Once the total weight of the blade is\ndetermined, the manufacturer is able to calculate how much ballast is applied\nto each blade to create the sets of three to make up a turbine. One rotation of\na turbine (three blades) can power a typical home for up to 29 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DLM, a\nspecialist in the design, manufacture, repair and calibration of load cells and\nload monitoring equipment used throughout the renewable energy supply chain,\nprovided a 25t capacity Telemetry Tensile Link and 20t capacity S-cell Load Cell,\nboth selected from the company\u2019s standard range because they are highly\naccurate and can be added into existing rigging equipment, easily and quickly.\nThe data is read by the operator on two separate wireless handheld displays.\nThe load monitoring equipment is rigged beneath the hooks of the site\u2019s\noverhead lifting equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James\nPerkins, site manager at the Fawley facility, said: \u201cAccurate data capture\nallows us to precisely calculate the amount of ballast material needed for each\nblade, which is critical when blades are mounted and spinning on the offshore\nwind turbines. Accurate weighing allows us to reduce future O&M [operation\nand maintenance] costs and ensure the blades are spinning as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perkins\nadded: \u201cDLM\u2019s load cells are certainly put through their paces. Their repair\nand calibration team are very responsive and have a very short lead time on\nparts and repair works, which helps us out a great deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris\nScrutton, Technical Manager at DLM, said: \u201cIt\u2019s always a pleasure to see our\nproducts associated with organisations at the cutting edge of their sector. The\nend user\u2019s parent companies [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Vestas Wind\nSystems] are two of the global leaders in wind and energy. To hear that such an\noperation values our products and responsiveness is a tremendous endorsement.\nWe look forward to playing an integral role in production of many turbine\nblades at this important manufacturing location.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DLM provided\na TL-2.0 in this instance. However, it has recently introduced a third\ngeneration of its Telemetry Tensile Link Load Cell, a lightweight wireless\ntension measuring unit that combines a high level of performance with a robust\ndesign for harsh environments. It is made from aerospace grade aluminium and\noffers a range up to 800m (over 2,600 ft.) and a huge battery life of 700\nhours. The TL-3.0 can be paired with one or up to a dozen handheld displays.\nScrutton also pointed to the product\u2019s 2.4GHz license-free frequency and remote\npower on\/off feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The S-Cell\nload cell (SC-1.0), meanwhile, is available from 250kg to 20t capacities and\nboasts welded covers, stainless steel construction, sealing to IP68, and high\naccuracy\u2014in tension and compression. It is suitable for use on test stands, to\ntake measurements during certification, and in vessel and tank weighing\napplications, in addition to retrofit in original equipment manufacturer (OEM)\ntechnologies and machinery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wind\nUp<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dynamic Load\nMonitoring (UK) Ltd. (DLM) is looking to further raise its profile in the wind\nenergy sector throughout 2021. To that end, it has developed a data-logging\ndevice that provides load, angle, and acceleration data at high sample rates\nparticularly for use in offshore renewables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris\nScrutton, Technical Manager at DLM, said: \u201cWith many existing wind turbines\ninstalled already, we are finding clients are now looking for ways to improve\nreliability and efficiency, which often involves measuring of real time data in\nthe field. Our data-loggers have been used for measuring forces due to sea\nwaves on array cables, and have been used in R&D [research and development]\nprojects in turbine fields. The next step in the development of instrumentation\nin offshore wind is remote access and data transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The system\nScrutton refers to was developed in response to demand for a method of\nmonitoring forces on cables and the movement they experience over time. In one\nrecent example, the system logged the data over the course of a year, and made\nit periodically accessible. The system comprises three dual axis Shear Pin Load\nCells, two accelerometers, and a programmable logic controller (PLC). The shear\npin load cells are dual axis shear pins that measure forces across two planes\nin the positive and negative directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The North\nSea is an area of constant interest, but Scrutton also pointed to the Americas\nas a likely hotbed of long-term activity, highlighting Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma,\nKansas, and California especially. In all areas, wind continues to present\nunique challenges to everyone in the supply chain. Scrutton says: \u201cThe location\nof instrumentation on a turbine array tends to be in the splash zone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He adds:\n\u201cThis is notoriously one of the harshest environments for cables and\ninstrumentation to withstand. Due to the remote locations and especially bad\nweather in the North Sea over the winter months, maintenance and repairs can be\nchallenging. Therefore, the systems need to be suitably designed and robust\nenough to withstand the harsh conditions for long periods. DLM has gained\nexperience in supplying products into this harsh environment with tried and\ntested methods for success.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dynamic Load Monitoring (UK) Ltd. (DLM), of Southampton, UK has provided a wireless weighing solution for MHI Vestas Offshore Wind\u2019s facility at nearby Fawley. MHI…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dlm-recent-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n