Strainstall Undertake Testing on the World's Largest Tidal Turbine |
23rd Nov 2010 |
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 Atlantis Resources Corporation is a renewable power company providing marine turbines to utilities and power companies. They have recently deployed the world's largest rotor tidal turbine, the AK1000, on a subsea berth in 35 metres of water at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland.
Designed to withstand the harsh weather and rough open ocean environments, the giant AK1000 turbine has an 18 metre rotor diameter, weighs 130 tonnes and stands 22.5 metres tall. Capable of generating enough electricity for 1000 homes, a successful trial would help unlock the economic potential of the marine energy industry. The AK1000 is being put through rigorous environmental and operational testing parameters over the next two years to demonstrate its capabilities and reliability, which, if all goes to plan, will take the industry one step closer to c ommercial scale tidal power projects. Currently tidal power represents just a tiny fraction of the renewable energy produced worldwide.
Strainstall have performed numerous tests on the turbine to monitor its structural performance. Strain gauges have been installed on the fixed blades to determine the stress levels at the root of the blades near to where it joins the main pylon and on the pylon itself to measure the axial, bending and torque strains.
Data loggers record the data and transmit the measurements to an on-shore PC via a sub-sea fibre optic cable, where it is collected and analysed. This includes continuous readings with cycle counting for fatigue life estimation. The system incorporates alarms which are triggered in the event of stress levels exceeding pre-defined limits.
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