the partners

• Denmark
  • University of Denmark, DTU
  • DHI Water & Environment
  • Aalborg University
• Germany
  • ISET
  • University of Hannover
  • University of Kassel
  • University of Magdeburg
  • Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
  • University of Stuttgart
• Greece
  • University of Patras
  • CRES
  • National Technical University of Athens
• Netherlands
  • Delft University of Technology
  • ECN
• Norway
  • SINTEF, IFE and NTNU - Centre for Renewable Energy (SFFE)
• Spain
  • CENER
  • Instituto de Investigación de Energías Renovables (IIER)
  • Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)
  • Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
  • Universidad Pública de Navarra
• United Kingdom
  • CREST
  • Durham University
  • Imperial College London
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
  • University of Manchester
  • The ICC at the University of Strathclyde
  • University of Surrey
  • Queen Mary

STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Contact STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Science & Technology Facilities Council Harwell Science and Innovation Campus Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, UK Energy Research Unit Dr. Geoff Dutton phone: +44 1235 445823 fax: +44 1235 446863 e-mail: a.g.dutton@rl.ac.uk web: www.eru.rl.ac.uk

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is one of Europe's largest multidisciplinary research organisations supporting scientists and engineers world-wide. It was founded in 2007 from the merging of two former UK research councils, PPARC and CCLRC. The Council operates world-class, large scale research facilities and provides strategic advice to the UK government on their development. It also manages international research projects in support of a broad cross-section of the UK research community. The Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) is situated 10 miles south of Oxford and has a multi-skilled workforce of professional scientists and engineers. RAL’s facilities include the pulsed neutron and muon source ISIS, a Central Laser Facility, space science test facilities, and a renewable energy test site operated by the Energy Research Unit (ERU).

Research groups involved

The main wind energy research effort at RAL is carried out within the Energy Research Unit, but several other groups in the laboratory do relevant work.
The Energy Research Unit (ERU) currently employs 5 scientists and engineers working on a diverse range of sustainable energy topics, including solar & wind energy, energy storage (flywheels and batteries), and hydrogen energy systems. ERU has a long track record of R&D in non-destructive testing techniques applied to wind turbine blades within national and EC-funded programmes, including studies utilising infra red thermography, thermoelasticity, and acoustic emission. ERU is currently leading the Structures and Materials theme of The Supergen Wind Energy Technologies consortium (Supergen Wind for short) within which it is developing state of the art finite element (FE) models of future large wind turbine blades. The integration of these models with the dynamics of the rest of the machine will result in valuable insight into design constraints for future large wind turbines.
ERU has additional expertise in wind resource assessment and wind power forecasting. The group has written and marketed its own in-house wind power forecasting software under the name PowerPredict.
The Cryogenics and Superconductivity Group primarily works on cryogenic systems design for space and telescope applications, but their cryogenics technology is relevant to the development of high efficiency superconducting generators for offshore wind turbines.
The Radio Communications Research Unit has studied the impact of land based wind farms on radio links for the UK radio regulator and is interested to extend its work on the influence of wind turbines on radar signatures.

Facilities & Advanced Research Tools

Open air test site	Open air test site for testing and operation of small to medium size wind turbines
Hybrid wind diesel test facility	Demonstration wind-diesel-flywheel system with 30 kW wind turbine and 45 kW diesel genset
NDT for wind turbine blades	Infra red thermography and thermoelastic stress analysis applied to wind turbine blades during laboratory certification testing. Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring system for blade condition monitoring
Wind energy in buildings test platform	Rotatable “model” building with space for small wind turbine to be mounted in the centre for testing building-integrated turbine operation
Generic, modular blade finite element model (ABAQUS)	Finite element blade model for comparing different blade geometries, varying material type and lay-up distribution, and “smart” blade control features
Mechanical testing of materials	100 kN servo-hydraulic test machine for static and fatigue testing of samples of blade materials

R&D Strategy

	TERM
	short	medium	long
Develop generic wind turbine blade finite element model
Study aeroelastic blade (and turbine) response and use to develop “smart” blade concepts
Study design principles for future large scale wind turbine blades
Develop wind turbine blade condition monitoring system(s)
Real time wind power forecasting
Aeroelastic behaviour of wind turbines

Education and training activities

A key part of the STFC mission is to ensure that its investment in major facilities in the UK and overseas and peer reviewed funding within UK universities, has a positive impact on the UK's economy through innovation.
To meet this challenge the STFC will ensure that knowledge generated from its facilities, research and technology programmes and interactions with universities and academic partners will be transferred to the wider economy for enhanced productivity and economic growth.