Wind energy

Wind turbines are often difficult to access. Component failures lead to time-consuming and costly repairs, as well as reducing turbine utilization. Cost-effectiveness can be improved by implementing intensive quality policies and through technical risk management, process & factory planning and optimum material usage.

Thanks to our combination of manufacturing expertise and methodological skills, our customers are not only able to keep their turbines functioning but also cut maintenance costs during operation by minimizing the service work required.

Area of expertise and services “Quality and risk management”

Quality and risk management in the wind turbine sector includes carefully assessing and analyzing supplier risks while taking a company’s own assembly risks into account. We use these results to derive and implement preventive optimization and targeted inspection measures. Our aim is to reduce error-related costs in assembly as well as service costs for offshore wind parks:

• Technical risk management during the development phase
  
• Technical risk analysis of the production process

Area of expertise and services “Process and factory planning”

Fraunhofer IPA gives its customers advice on order management, as well as on process and production operations. From planning your factory and logistics right up to optimizing information flows, taking production-related IT systems into account. We help our customers identify improvement measures and put them into practice:

• Value chains/supply chain management
• Cable robots for handling large structures
• Mobile inspection and maintenance robots

Area of expertise and services “Material usage”

Fraunhofer IPA also develops mechanisms to de-ice rotor blades locally in an energy-efficient way. We use thin-film systems which hardly affect the weight or profile of rotor blades. Based on a carbon material, the thin film can be adapted to any form or performance requirement:

• Developing CFRP and GFRP structures and testing their thermographic properties
  
• Machining lightweight structures
• Processing technologies for wind turbine rotor blades  

Area of expertise and services “Clean technologies”

Adapted levels of cleanliness have a significant effect on quality when it comes to manufacturing and assembling wind turbines. We supply methods and techniques tailored to your needs, not only to inspect particulate contamination affecting the function of components but also to implement cleanliness concepts in your specific branch of industry.

• Cause research on diverse components and damage analysis
  
• Independent analysis of component cleanliness in compliance with current norms
  
• Analyzing and optimizing assembly processes critical to cleanliness