The wind energy value chain: Design, test and validation

The wind value chain starts with design and testing before production, installation, operations, and decommissioning. Here are some issues we can help you with during the design phase.

How can you know if your wind structure or part can withstand the environment?

The design of a wind project is the very first step in the wind energy value chain. It starts with a lifetime assessment considering the extremely harsh conditions in which the wind turbine system or part must operate.

A lifetime assessment is crucial to the operation of most steel constructions, and it helps you to plan maintenance and repair, avoid failure and minimise revenue loss.

You need to consider both ultimate and fatigue loading, understand wind/wave characteristics and their interactions and know how to precisely predict collective influence on these complex, dynamic systems in the lifetime assessment. Our climatic test chamber can test large components, structures and functional systems under realistic atmospheric sea conditions. Temperature control, humidity control and salt spray can be individually controlled or programmed as combined effects to simulate the harsh offshore atmosphere as realistically as possible.

Our extreme and special tests provide you with documentation demonstrating your product's resistance to the environment and can be a part of determining its life expectancy.

Simulating wind energy projects helps reduce costs and mistakes.

Make use of our decades of experience in designing, testing and validating wind projects to:

Cathodic Protection (CP) mitigates corrosion on submerged surfaces on offshore wind structures and is a vital part of securing the integrity of the structures. When designing a CP system, you must ensure that the lifespan from installation through service life is covered, fulfilling CP current and weight requirements.
Any conventional CP design calculation assumes an even distribution of galvanic anodes. This is not practically feasible on offshore wind monopiles: CP modelling is therefore a useful and recommended tool for optimising the design and anode configuration to ensure that the entire structure is adequately cathodically protected through the service life and for retrofit and life extension.
As CP modelling pioneers, we have 40 years of experience providing CP modelling for all types of marine structures worldwide with our in-house CP software SeaCorr™. We also offer the newest state-of-the-art technology for subsea inspection of offshore structures - the highly sensitive FiGS^® sensor, which has proven substantial cost savings for offshore inspections. Combining the CP modelling analysis of the inspection data with status and models available for the client in our online CP Integrity Viewer enhances the operator's status and knowledge about the integrity of the offshore structures.
Assessing a wind structure's optimal design is complex. You get the best results by combining advanced software, the correct data, realistic simulators and state-of-the-art aerodynamic/hydrodynamic test facilities.
You can optimise your wind energy design by simulating a proposed setup before you test, validate and put it into production. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can help suggest ways of optimising the design based on extensive experience and historical data.
Our accurate on- and offline maritime simulator for engineering studies allows you to evaluate various layouts under predetermined criteria that correspond with real-life conditions. The simulator visualises the advantages and limitations of the proposed design, enabling fact-based, safe, and cost-saving decisions on the port or approach.
The simulations provide an opportunity to experience the planned future in real time and help you to screen various solutions and quantify cost versus performance.
During the design phase, a digital twin can contribute to significantly reducing costs compared to traditional product design iterations. A digital twin is a virtual representation of the wind structure that spans its lifecycle, is updated from real-time data, and uses simulation, machine learning and reasoning to help decision-making.
If you have a wind-related product, it needs to be extraordinarily robust. To know that it is robust and functions under the desired conditions, you need a customised test process that considers the specific requirements of your product and tells you how it will work, for how long, and what you can do to choose the right materials and maintain them over time.
Our materials and testing experts can identify critical technical factors affecting the safety of your structures, systems and materials. We can assist with material selection and verification, corrosion rate simulations and calculations, welding consultancy and surface protection. Accelerated environmental testing of composites, elastomers, plastics and metals ensures their function and safe use.
We can help avoid unnecessary damages and minimise corrosion through our many test labs: we can look at your assets with every test tool known to man – from mechanical and large component testing through wind tunnels to ultrasound and CT scans. Our experts can take a deeper look at the surfaces and tell you how long a given material will perform under the given conditions.
We have a long tradition of cooperating with companies in the energy sector, including assistance related to local plans in the form of environmental impact assessments (EIA), noise reduction and action plans for compliance with noise limits and product/compliance testing.
During the planning phase, we calculate the noise contributions impacting neighbours or wildlife using the wind turbine manufacturer's sound power level. We offer advice, measurement and documentation of acoustic noise and vibrations from subcomponents following applicable directives, executive orders and international standards. We can prepare the required documentation for the public authorities' processing of application about the project.
We test that all parts can survive the salty environment and that all the wind turbine's electrical systems operate safely and within the legal and desired audio limits.

Learn more about the wind energy value chain

60+ years of experience

Many companies offer integrity management, experimental tests and simulations, non-destructive testing, failure analysis, calculations, design verifications or condition monitoring. What sets us apart is our ability to offer all necessary services under one roof, from testing to advanced strategic advice.

We are accredited by DANAK, the Danish Accreditation body. This means that we are continuously assessed against internationally recognised standards to demonstrate competence, impartiality and performance capability. Our accreditation ensures that your products meet all applicable regulatory standards.

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Reach out to Søren Rønnow Poulsen for more information.

The wind energy value chain - Step 1: Design, test and validation

The wind value chain starts with design and testing before production, installation, operations, and decommissioning. Here are some issues we can help you with during the design phase.

How can you know if your wind structure or part can withstand the environment?

Make use of our decades of experience in designing, testing and validating wind projects to:

Prevent and control corrosion

Simulate before you build to avoid expensive mistakes

Use a digital twin to optimise performance

Be sure you're using the right materials and know how long they will last

Get accredited reports as documentation for public authorities

Be certain that electrical noise is under the allowed limit

Learn more about the wind energy value chain

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Newsletter

Stay updated on developments in wind energy

Related services and facilities

Simulate before you build to avoid expensive mistakes

Use a digital twin to optimise performance

Be sure you're using the right materials and know how long they will last

Get accredited reports as documentation for public authorities

Be certain that electrical noise is under the allowed limit

Learn more about the wind energy value chain

01

02

03

04

05

Related services and facilities