Improving drone performance in headwinds

The prevalence of multi-rotor drones has increased dramatically in recent years, but in headwinds, they pitch upwards unpredictably. Engineers from Tohoku University, Japan, have shown that angling the rotor blades of a quad-rotor ...

New radar scanner tests wind turbine blades for defects

Thanks to the innovative radar scanner from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF, defects in the material composition of the wind turbine blades can now be detected with far greater accuracy and visualized ...

Generating eco-friendly power with metal rotor blades

Wind turbines deliver environmentally friendly electricity. Yet the fiber-reinforced plastics often used in very large rotor blades are almost impossible to recycle. Not so with steel blades: since these are composed of steel, ...

Smart anti-icing system for rotor blades

In very cold climate zones, the wind can blow with tremendous force. But wind turbines have rarely been built in these regions up to now. The risk of ice formation on the rotor blades is just too high. But now, an energy-efficient ...

Lifting mechanism for mounting huge rotor blades

Siemens has created a special mechanism for mounting its 75-meter-long rotor blades for offshore wind farms. The lifting system makes assembly work safer and lets construction take place at higher wind speeds than was previously ...

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