upgrades to the aging, long-range radar infrastructure, modifcawithout subsidies, wind energy is competitive, or nearly competitions to wind farm design to reduce radar cross-section and the use
tive, with traditional energy sources, including coal and oil. Onof "gap fllers" in radar coverage.
going materials and manufacturing innovation will help push this
Turbine manufactures also are investigating technologies to reimportant end market to wider, and permanent, acceptance. | CT |
duce the intrinsic radar signature of wind blades. Vestas Wind Systems A/S (Aarhus, Denmark) is reportedly researching the use of
Contributing Writer
a stealth technology, similar to what is used in military aircraf, to
Michael R. LeGault is a freelance writer
reduce a turbine's radar signature. Te company has built a numlocated in Ann Arbor, Mich., and the forber of experimental wind blades that comprise two layers of glass
mer editor of Canadian Plastics magazine
fabric printed with a special "ink." Te radar signal passes through
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
the frst layer and is efectively trapped between the two layers. Acmlegault@compositesworld.com
cording to online reports, the technology
works, but the cost could be prohibitive —
especially considering the market pressure
on turbine manufacturers to reduce, not
raise, costs. Further, a turbine completely
undetectable to radar would pose a hazard
to aircraf fying in the vicinity of a wind
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farm. Te trick, which Vestas is attempting
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to master, is to "tune" the technology so a
spinning turbine doesn't appear as a threat
on the aircraf's radar, yet doesn't entirely
disappear from the radar screen.
Elsewhere, GE Wind Energy is taking a
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"commercial radar-absorbing materials"
to rotor blades, which have subsequently
been tested on turbines and were shown to
be capable of reducing radar interference.
"We are using materials that you can purchase of-the-shelf and staying away from
more exotic materials used in the defense
industry," says Longtin. "If the industry
were to move to requiring a blade producing less radar interference, we think we
have some technology that we can draw
upon that could help."
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Read this article online | http://short.
compositesworld.com/UZFPOTtz.
Read more about the Haliade turbine and
other large-rotor installations in "Fair winds for
offshore wind farms" | CT June 2013 (p. 32) |
http://short.compositesworld.com/fEQbAlC2.
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CT oCTober 2013
thermal stability and fatigue strength,
and will not absorb water. These
35