DIGItal Twin for large-scale test BENCHes for the wind industry (DIGIT-BENCH)
Renewable energy, including the wind industry, is a key to a fossil-fuel-free future. For industries such as wind turbine manufacturers and their sub-suppliers, testing is an essential part of ensuring the quality of both the design and manufacturing are of a high standard. To reduce the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE), wind turbines and their subcomponents keep getting bigger and bigger, which also leads to the testing equipment getting bigger, whereas the test time is getting longer. However, the unexploited digitalization of large-scale test benches conceals substantial room for reducing the duration and cost of experimental campaigns. In response to this unmet need, the DIGIT-BENCH project aims to develop a framework for the digitalization of large-scale test benches such as the HALT test bench at LORC Test Center or the Dual-Axis Blade Exciter testing bench at BLEAST Test Center.
The project scope forms the first step into the commercial application of DT technology and is a gateway for industrial implementation. In this project, the scope pertains to the basic DT architecture and use on test benches for optimization of test bench operation. The scope allows for future developments and the use of DT for either hybrid or virtual testing. This expands on the stated premise even further as DT could be implemented across a multitude of industries as part of the digitalization wave integrated into Industry 4.0. This opens the DT technology that originated in this project up for expanded use on a massive scale with a correspondingly large increase in market potential.
DIGIT-BENCH solution aims to anticipate the introduction to the market of larger and more reliable WTs by reducing the testing time by a factor of 20% using DT technology. The technology will be commercialized by the R&D Test Systems. It is expected that the technology can be commercialized both nationally and abroad, starting from the installed customer base.
DIGIT-BENCH project aims to develop a framework for digitalizing large-scale test benches. DIGIT-BENCH exploits the Digital Twin (DT) paradigm meaning that the framework lives upon a digital replica of both the test bench and the Device Under Test (DUT), continuously updated based on data from Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices. The goal is to enable the test bench operator to i) perform test rehearsal virtually, ii) replace some physical experiments with virtual experiments, and iii) improve operation and maintenance.
DIGIT-BENCH framework will be jointly developed by R&D Test Systems, AU-CAE, and AU-ECE and demonstrated at LORC. The specific objectives are:
- Demonstrate a fully digitalized workflow for the operation and maintenance of large-scale test benches serving the wind industry (e.g., for nacelle or blade testing).
- Test a software framework that implements such workflow and relies on a DT of the test bench with DUT using two small-scale test benches installed at AU-CAE.
- Demonstrate DIGIT-BENCH framework on the large-scale test bench HALT at LORC Test Center.
- Establish technological development roadmaps for the DIGIT-BENCH framework in the context of large-scale test benches for the wind industry, with the aim of future commercialization.
- Disseminate project results to the engineering community.
Key figures
Participants
| Partner | Subsidy | Auto financing |
|---|---|---|
| R&D Test Systems A/S | 4,57 mio. DKK | 6,85 mio. DKK |
| Aarhus Universitet | 2,79 mio. DKK | 0,31 mio. DKK |
| Aarhus Universitet | 2,38 mio. DKK | 0,27 mio. DKK |
| Lindø Offshore Renewables Center (LORC) | 1,52 mio. DKK | 1,52 mio. DKK |
Contact
Adresse: Sigma 3, Hinnerup, 8382
Tlf.: +45 81 10 32 00
E-mail (projektleder): mio@rdas.dk
Hjemmeside: https://www.rd-as.com/
