Physical Acoustics Corp. (PAC), a member of MISTRAS Group Inc., will supply the PCI-8 multi-channel acoustic emission system to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory 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 waveforms. This system will be used for static fatigue testing of wind turbine blades.
The purchase of the PCI-8 system enhances stress correlation in conjunction with other external sensor inputs. According to the company, 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.
‘Power utilities across the country are starting to tap high-power output wind turbines for use in their wind farms,’ says Carlton Gonsalves, 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.’
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