MTS Systems Logo Contact Us
  • Industries
    • Automotive
      • Passenger Cars & Light Trucks
      • Driver Assisted & Autonomous Vehicles
      • Electric & New Energy Vehicles
      • Heavy Trucks & Commercial Vehicles
      • Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV)
      • Racing & Motorsports
      • Recreational Vehicles
      • Motorcycles
      Automotive

      Automotive

      320 kph

      flat-belt roadway enables precise replication of motorsports cornering maneuvers

      Read the Case Study
    • Materials
      • Metals
      • Composites
      • Plastics
      • Rubber & Elastomers
      • Adhesives
      • Concrete & Rock
      • Ceramics & Glass
      • Textiles
      • Wood
      • Paper Products
      • Universities
      Materials

      Materials

      1500 degree Celsius

      solutions for testing high-temperature alloys, composites, ceramics and polymers

      Read the Article
    • Aerospace
      • Fixed Wing Aircraft
      • Helicopters & Rotary Wing Aircraft
      • UAM (Urban Air Mobility)
      • Delivery Drones
      • Supersonic Aircraft
      • Space Structures
      Aerospace

      Aerospace

      20% increase

      in testing speeds using state-of-the-art cross-coupling compensation technology

      Read the Article
    • Biomedical
      • Orthopedic
      • Medical Devices
      • Dental
      • Hospitals & Universities
      Biomedical

      Biomedical

      1 in 1,000 children

      will need corrective scoliosis surgery

      Read the Case Study
    • Civil Engineering
      • Multi-Hazard Engineering
      • Seismic Engineering
      • Structural Engineering
      Civil Engineering

      Civil Engineering

      1.32 million pound

      force capacity enables the testing of very large specimens all the way to failure

      Read the Case Study
    • Rock Geomechanics
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Geothermal Energy
      • Mining
      • Construction
      • Carbon Sequestration
      • Research
      Rock Geomechanics

      Rock & Geomechanics

      3x stronger

      concrete materials make it possible to carry higher loads

      Read the Case Study
    • Energy
      • Wind Energy
      • Oil & Gas
      Energy

      Energy

      56 MNm

      overturning moment capacity enables testing of the largest wind turbine drivetrains

      Read the Article
    • Rail
      • Commuter Trains
      • Freight Trains
      • High-Speed Trains
      Rail

      Rail

      550 kph

      test system enables lab-based studies of high-speed rail operating environments

      Read the Article
  • Applications
    • Materials Applications
    • Test Type
      • Tension
      • Compression
      • Fatigue & Fracture
      • Flexure & Bend
      • Shear, Peel & Tear
      • Torsion
      • Non-Contacting Strain Measurement
      • High Temperature
      • Bi-Axial & Multi-Axial
      • High Rate
      • Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

      Material Applications by Material

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Test Standard
      • ASTM Test Standards
      • ISO Test Standards
      • EN Test Standards

      Material Applications by Material

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Materials
      • Metals
      • Composites
      • Plastics
      • Rubber & Elastomers
      • Adhesives
      • Fasteners & Welds
      • Concrete & Rock
      • Ceramics & Glass
      • Wood & Paper Products
      • Additive Manufacturing

      Material Applications by Material

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Automotive Applications
      • Full Vehicle
      • Axle & Suspension
      • Steering System
      • Drivetrain
      • Dampers
      • Elastomeric Mounts & Bushings
      • Tires
      • Exhaust System
      • Body Mounted Components
      • Cooling System Components
      • Transportation & Packaging
      • Motorcycle
      • Farm, Construction, Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV)

      Automotive

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Aerospace Applications
      • Complete Full-Scale Structures
      • Sub-Assemblies
      • Sub-Systems
      • Flight Control Systems
      • Airframe Components
      • Rotary-Wing Components
      • Gas Turbine Component Fatigue

      Aerospace

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Biomedical Applications
      • Orthopedic
      • Biomechanic
      • Medical Device
      • Biomaterial

      Biomedical

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Civil Engineering Applications
      • Civil Structures
      • Structural Sub-Assemblies & Components
      • Non-Structural Systems
      • Oil Rig Stay Cables
      • Construction Materials

      Civil Engineering

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Energy Applications
      • Wind Turbine Testing
      • Oil & Gas Pipeline

      Energy

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Rock Geomechanics Applications
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Geothermal
      • Nuclear Waste Storage

      Rock Geomechanics

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Rail Applications
      • Rail Car Suspension Components
      • Rail Car Coupler
      • Rail Car Wheels & Rail
      • Rail Car Axles
      • Rail Car Bogies
      • Complete Rail Cars
      • Rail Car Pantographs
      • Railway Track & Road Bed
      • Catenary & Trolley Wire

      Rail

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

  • Products
    • Automotive Systems
      • Full Vehicle Test Systems
      • Subsystem & Component Test Systems
      • Tire Test Systems
      • Damper Test Systems
      • Elastomer Test Systems
      • Hybrid Simulation Solutions
      • Modular Components

      Automotive

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Materials Test Systems
      • Static Materials Test Systems
      • Dynamic Materials Test Systems
      • Extensometers
      • Grips
      • Fixtures & Platens
      • Furnaces, Chambers & Fluid Baths
      • High Temp Subsystems & TMF
      • Load Cells / Force Transducers

      Materials

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Aerospace Systems
      • Turnkey Control & Data Acquisition
      • Turnkey Hydromechanical Power Distribution
      • Test Article Safety Solutions
      • Series 261 Structural Pressure Test Controller
      • High Force Test Systems
      • Modular Components
      • FlexDAC Data Acquisition Systems

      Aerospace

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Biomedical Systems
      • Orthopedic Test Systems
      • Biomechanic Test Systems
      • Medical Device Test Systems
      • Biomaterial Test Systems

      Biomedical

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Civil Engineering Systems
      • Seismic Simulators & Shake Tables
      • Multi-Axial Subassemblage Structural Test Systems
      • Hybrid Simulation Solutions
      • Seismic Isolation Bearing Test Systems
      • High-Force Test Systems
      • Modular Components
      • STEX Pro Software

      Civil Engineering

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Energy Systems
      • Wind Turbine Blade Fatigue Test Systems
      • Wind Turbine Blade Static Test Systems
      • Wind Turbine Blade Rain Erosion Test System
      • Wind Turbine Bearing & Drivetrain Test Systems
      • Oil & Gas Pipe / Coupling Test Systems
      • High-Force Test Systems
      • Modular Components

      Energy

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Rock & Geomechanics Systems
      • Rock Mechanics Test Systems
      • Polyaxial Rock Test System

      Rock Geomechanics

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Rail Systems
      • Air Spring Test System
      • Railway Damper Test System
      • Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) System
      • 4-28 Channel Bogie Frame Test System
      • Bogie Vibration & Characterization System
      • Pantograph Wear & Performance System
      • High-Force Test Systems
      • Damper Durability Test Systems
      • Elastomer Test Systems
      • Modular Components

      Rail

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Test System Components
      • Actuators & Servo-Valves
      • SilentFlo™ Hydraulic Power Units
      • 295 Hydraulic Service Manifolds
      • Stands & Frames
      • Load Bearing Components
      • FlexTest® Controllers
      • FlexDAC Data Acquisition
      • SWIFT® Evo Wheel Force Transducers

      Test System Components

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

    • Software & Monitoring
      • RPC® Connect Software
      • TestSuite™ Software
      • AeroPro™ Software
      • STEX™ Pro Software
      • Elastomer Testing Software
      • Damper Testing Software
      • MultiPurpose TestWare® (MPT)
      • First Road Interact Software
      • Multi-Pump Control Manager
      • Equipment Monitoring

      Software & Monitoring

      Solution Finder

      Search by Test Material, Test Type, or Test Standard to find relevant products fast.

  • Services
    • Services
      • Calibrations & Metrology
      • Consulting & Engineering Services
      • Equipment Monitoring
      • Routine Maintenance & Fluid Care
      • Repairs & Remanufacture
      • Relocation Services

      Services & Support

    • Plans
      • Software Support Plans
      • Technical Support Plans
      • Service Plans
      • Extended Warranty

      Services & Support

    • Training

      Training Courses

    • Parts

      Parts

    • Support

      myMTS Portal

  • Company
    • Our Company
      • About MTS
      • Global Presence
      • History

      Our Company

    • Careers

      Careers

    • Sustainability

      Sustainability

    • Suppliers
      • Supplier Home
      • Products & Services

      Suppliers

  • Solution Finder
  • Contact Us
  • R&D Test Systems
  • E2M Technologies
  • myMTS Portal
  • Global Sites
  • Search
Home > CENER Case Study

CENER: Maximizing Confidence in Wind Turbine Blades

cener
MTS wind turbine blade testing solutions help a renowned research facility validate new blade designs

CUSTOMER CHALLENGE

CENER (Centro Nacional de Energías Renovables) - also known as the National Renewable Energy Center of Spain – specializes in applied research and development for several initiatives, including the development of wind power technology. Its Wind Energy Department conducts independent research to improve the overall reliability and efficiency of wind turbines, and collaborates with some of the most influential companies in the growing global wind power industry.

Industry stakeholders come to CENER because it is equipped with some of the most advanced technology infrastructure in the world. The centerpiece of CENER’s wind program is its Wind Turbine Test laboratory (LEA). It is the only facility of its kind in terms of its physical size (30,000 square meters), the power of the equipment it is capable of testing and the variety of technological services it offers.

Located in Sangüesa, a small town 40 km outside Pamplona, the LEA comprises five advanced test laboratories, including one devoted to full-scale structural testing of rotor blades up to 100 meters long. The head of the blade testing lab is Asier Oiz Vázquez, who has been with CENER since the center’s inception in 2002, and with the blade testing group since 2006.

“Our customers are primarily concerned with model validation and performance characterization of rotor blades according to international standards,” Oiz said. “They want to be confident that the tests we perform will deliver the high-quality results they need to validate the design of the blade or achieve certification. In both situations, they require exceptional service. They also expect us to have the best test systems. This is our biggest challenge.”

 

MTS SOLUTION

To meet its customers’ demands for high-quality results, the CENER blade test laboratory relies on two solutions from MTS. Together, these wind blade testing solutions enable the CENER team to conduct static and fatigue tests on full-scale rotor blades and beams (frameworks) up to 100 meters in the case of static tests, and up to 75 meters in the case of fatigue tests.

Measurement of physical properties are performed to determine essential blade properties such as mass, center of gravity position, length, natural frequencies, damping, mode shapes, stiffness and mass distribution.

Static tests are performed to load the blade at its most severe design load condition. The blade is instrumented so as to obtain applied deflection curve, strain distribution, test bench deflection and bending moment distribution. Electrical winches are employed to achieve precise, coordinated loading at multiple pull points along a blade.

 

Fatigue tests performed at CENER support multi-point and multi-axial accelerated tests of blades in both flap-wise and edge-wise orientations. The MTS fatigue test solution applies automated cyclic loading to blades at resonant frequency to excite the blade and achieve the desired strain rate. To do this, it employs compact, energy-efficient IREX (Inertial Resonance Excitation) systems, originally developed by MTS and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Each IREX system integrates two double-ended, fatigue-rated MTS hydraulic actuators, linear side bearings, a hose stand, and adjustable masses.

 

“Everything that we have from MTS works very well,” Oiz said. “The IREX system in particular is very stable. We have never seen it fail. We are also very pleased because it helps CENER save energy during fatigue testing, which can be extremely energy-intensive.”

 

CUSTOMER BENEFITS

With the help of MTS testing solutions, the blade test laboratory at CENER enables its customers to address the complete range of full-scale structural static and fatigue testing required for certification according to international standard IEC TS 61400-23. The lab is accredited by ENAC, the Spanish National Accreditation Body, within the scope of IEC TS 61400-23.

“We are a relatively new facility with all the latest technology, including MTS wind turbine blade testing solutions,” Oiz said. “When customers see we have MTS technology, they feel comfortable. The name assures them that the test equipment will operate reliably. We have performed a lot of tests with MTS systems, and that makes our customers more confident.”

Customer confidence in the accuracy and reliability of MTS test solutions, and MTS’ ongoing commitment to problem solving have led to a strong working relationship between the two organizations.

“In my experience, MTS always offers a solution to our needs,” Oiz said. “From the very beginning, MTS wanted a detailed understanding of the kind of tests we were going to carry out so they could develop a solution that would meet our particular needs. That continues today. When CENER needs something, MTS works hard to fulfill our request. And the service they provide is very good.”

Today, CENER and MTS continue to chart the way forward in wind turbine blade testing, exploring new technologies to more accurately simulate the real-world operating environments of ever-longer blade structures.

According to Oiz, “Longer blades, more elastic blades, and biaxial fatigue testing represent the challenges facing wind turbine blade testing in the near future, and MTS seems to understand these very well.”

 

cener

“In my experience, MTS always offers a solution to our needs. From the very beginning, MTS wanted a detailed understanding of the kind of tests we were going to carry out so they could develop a solution that would meet our particular needs. That continues today.” — Asier Oiz Vázquez

Centro Nacional de Energías Renovables
Also of Interest:
  • Orthopedic >
  • Pushing Tire Testing Into Uncharted Territory >
  • Fraunhofer Institute Lbf: A New Spark In Innovation >
Stay Connected
  • INDUSTRIES
  • Automotive
  • Materials
  • Aerospace
  • Biomedical
  • Civil Engineering
  • Rock Geomechanics
  • Energy
  • Rail
  • SALES & SUPPORT
  • Sales Offices
  • Services
  • Training
  • Parts
  • Customer Portal
  • SUPPLIERS
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Products & Services
  • Expectations
  • Workmanship Standards
  • Packaging & Labeling
  • Routing Guide
  • COMPANY
  • About
  • News
  • Careers
  • Culture
  • Sustainability
  • History
  • SOLUTIONS
  • Applications
  • Test Standards
  • Products
  • RESOURCES
  • Learning Center
  • Solution Finder
  • Quality
  • Product Safety
  • Patents
  • CONTACT US
  • SUPPORT: 952-937-4000
  • Online Request
  • Request A Quote
  • Sales Offices
  • BUSINESSES
  • MTS Systems
  • E2M Technologies
  • R&D Test Systems
  • MTS SANS China
    • © MTS Systems. All Rights Reserved
    • 952.937.4000
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms Of Use
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Sales Offices
    • Cookie Preferences
We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set up optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them.
Decline Accept
We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set up optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them.
Decline Accept