Sunny forecast for Irish solar
Ireland’s first competitive auction for renewable energy capacity took place this summer. The results spell sunny times ahead for the nascent solar industry in Ireland and mark an important step towards the country’s target to meet 70% of its electricity supply from renewables by 2030. Auction results According to provisional results issued by electricity market […]
Making solar safer for companies: the why, what and how
Improved economics, governmental incentives, and increased awareness of solar energy as a viable alternative to grid power are leading more companies to go solar. With the potential to benefit businesses large and small, smart energy solutions are cropping up on unused rooftops of shopping centres, manufacturing plants, airports, schools, and hospitals. Much of the attraction […]
New sensors for monitoring photovoltaic plants
Over the last years, some new sensors have been developed, for monitoring photovoltaic plants. This has been possible due to close co-operation, in research and development, between Ingenieurbüro Mencke & Tegtmeyer GmbH (M&T) and Institut für Solarenergieforschung Hameln/ Emmerthal (ISFH). The new PVIS reference irradiance sensor will be available later this year, once the final […]
The have-it-all synergy between monitoring & aerial data for solar PV
Every company that owns solar plants wants to generate the highest return. In order to achieve this, the system’s maintenance teams need to constantly ensure the optimal functioning of all system components, especially the panels and inverters. A solar monitoring system enables you to be informed of your PV system’s performance. The industry standard: solar […]
Is knowledge really power?
Yes it is, if we take what we have learned from asset management in other industries and apply it to operational safety in battery energy storage systems. Utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are becoming a more common feature of the UK electricity network for the purpose of frequency regulation and balancing. There is also […]
How cloud-computing is unlocking accurate wake modelling
Recent discussions, about offshore wind resource estimation, demonstrated the need for more sophisticated wake models to reduce the risk of overestimating power production. In this context, ZephyScience developed a new computation methodology, empowered by its cloud-computing services. This topic emerged over the past few months: wake models used up until now by the wind resource […]
Advancing knowledge to optimise global wind farm performance
In response to the global market requirement for more efficient and targeted O&M strategies for operational wind farms, there is an increasing need for operators to focus on turbine performance and reliability. Having recognised this as a priority to support operational teams and to advise on strategies to optimise sites, our approach has been to […]
New-generation DFIG power converters for 6-8 MW wind turbine
DFIG topology wind turbines have been widely used in the wind energy market during the last years to cover the medium and lower power ranges, between 2 and 4 MW. Nowadays, this fact has changed and the OEMs are developing DFIG wind turbines that could go above power rates of 6 MW. The wind sector […]
Dual axis testing of wind turbine blades
Abstract: full-scale mechanical testing of blades is an integral part of the certification of wind turbines. With ever-larger rotor diameters, the importance of testing and validation is growing with the aim of minimizing operational risks. Dual axis testing can lead to a more realistic loading scenario compared to traditional single axis testing. A recent demonstration […]
检查涂层系统密封性
新系统安装完毕或现有系统维护完毕后，常出现渗漏。造成该情况的原因通常是连接出错或误用了有缺陷的密封件。若想及时发现该渗漏情况并有效管控设备的密封性，正确操作氦气检漏仪至关重要。此外，对检漏背后的物理原理及检测过程中的优化可能性了解得越深入，在实际使用氦气检漏仪时就会越得心应手，测量结果也会随之变得更加可靠。 以下综述就如何正确操作氦气检漏仪以及如何在真空系统顺利实施检漏试验给出了一些实用信息。 将检漏仪连接至涂层系统时需考虑的因素 真空系统在调试或维护完毕后产生的渗漏量通常较大。而当渗漏达到某个程度后，市售的氦气检漏仪将无法再继续使用。市售氦气检漏仪的最大工作压力通常约在 6 到 25 mbar 之间。如果产生大量泄漏，该等压力条件可能无法通过抽空过程而达到。图 1 所示的是一个 Si3N4 （氮化硅）涂层系统。可看到，在某次维护后，通过抽空过程仅能将压力降至 80 mbar。有一种方法可降低所用检漏仪的入口压力，那便是使用针型计量阀。 但该方法不仅会导致响应时间延长，而且还必须使用辅助泵。与其对真空检漏仪实施节流调节，我们不妨使用普发真空 ASM 340 检漏仪。此款检漏仪能以定性方式创建一种大规模检漏模式，从而找到当前渗漏所处位置。 以流程泵支持检漏仪 理想情况下，检漏仪应按图 1 和图 2 所示方式连接至真空系统的前真空管线。不过，检漏仪本身适用于洁净环境，而抽空降压过程产生的压缩热会引起严重的热应力，因此，为保护检漏仪，使其免受该等热应力的影响，可能需另行连接一个流程泵。流程泵不仅对热应力不敏感，而且还可抽出所有气体、蒸汽和扬起的颗粒。 另行连接一个流程泵的做法既能提升检漏仪的可用性，还能显著延长检漏仪的维护周期，进而大大降低运营成本。 在抽空降压过程中，一旦压力达到相应的低水平，检漏仪便能一直保持真空。检漏仪中的前级泵功率越大，检漏仪可进一步抽出的气体就越多，真空容器的内表面也就会越大。
