RTDT tests rotor blade sensor in the field

(CONNECT) The intelligent plaster for wind turbines from RTDT Laboratories AG is currently undergoing practical testing at an Austrian wind farm. It is attached to rotor blades and sends real-time information that manufacturers can use to optimize their design, control, structure and aerodynamics. This should increase the production of electricity and reduce the use of materials by 5 to 10 percent.

The system, called Aerosense, measures aerodynamic and structural aspects, i.e. vibration characteristics, acoustic emissions, strain and the temperature of a rotor blade. "Similar to an Apple Watch or a fitness tracker, it provides information about the physical condition of the rotor blade at all times," explains CEO Imad Abdallah in a report by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH).

By the end of the year, the system from the ETH spin-off based in Technopark Zurich is to prove in a real environment that it can achieve a service life of one year and that rotor speeds of 80 to 100 meters per second, high ambient humidity and temperatures between minus 20 and plus 60 degrees are no problem for it.

The spin-off aims to have achieved soft integration with a well-known manufacturer by 2026. "This means that Aerosense will have reached a service life of three years by then and will be bonded to the rotor blades from the factory," says Abdallah. An industrial partner that fully integrates the hardware into its rotor blades should be found by the beginning of 2027. The feedback from wind turbine manufacturers is reportedly "outstanding".

At the same time, the start-up is looking at other areas of application. Aerosense could also measure aerodynamics on the wings of airplanes. ce/mm