Princeton Junction, NJ - December 2007 - Physical Acoustics
Corporation (
PAC), a member of MISTRAS Group Inc., announces the
supply of a PCI-8 Multi-channel Acoustic Emission System to the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado and to
Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, for remote wind blade
monitoring.
The PCI-8
AE System uses multiple sensors or channels to detect
acoustic emission (
AE) waveforms and features, using the advanced
AEwin Windows software. This system will be used for static fatigue
testing of wind turbine blades.
The purchase of the PCI-8 System permit enhanced stress correlation in conjunction with other external
sensor inputs. This gives a better understanding of how composites behave under loads. In addition, the
PAC
AEViewer software package, provided to Sandia, allows scientists to remotely monitor and control their
AE
system.
With wind power becoming a growing source of energy in the world, the need to understand reliability and
performance characteristics of wind turbine blades has taken on a greater urgency. In order to improve power
turbine blade efficiency while maintaining strength and elasticity in severe wind loading conditions, both of the
labs are utilizing the
PAC AE System, along with several other technologies.
"Power Utilities across the country are starting to tap high power output wind turbines for use in their wind
farms," said Carlton Gonsalves, the
AE Sales Manager for
PAC. "The review of our
AE System will give the
research labs a more thorough understanding of wind turbine performance characteristics, which will allow
them to implement and design better and stronger wind turbine blades."
The National Wind Technology Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Sandia National
Laboratories are the nation's primary laboratories leading the efforts in renewable energy and energy efficiency
research and development. The goal of the wind energy research and development program is to increase the
viability of wind technology. This is done by improving wind turbine performance and reducing the overall cost
of energy from wind.
