The Windflow 500

Windflow Technology

Windflow Technology is a NZ based wind turbine design and manufacturing company.

The company’s two-blade 500kW turbine, Windflow 500, is much lighter than competing three-bladed turbines, which makes it less expensive to build.

The wind turbine combines three advanced technologies:

Windflow’s patented torque limiting gearbox
Two-bladed pitch-teeter rotor
Synchronous generator

The blades are made of laminated NZ Pinus Radiata. Overseas wind turbine manufacturers use various components for wind turbine blades, usually a composite, whereas wood is not very commonly used.

When designing the blade, it was necessary to make strong, light-weight blades and preferably using sustainable materials. Pinus Radiata stood up to various different tests and proved its worth as very strong blade material. The blade has been certified by Lloyd’s Register as meeting the requirements of IEC Technical Specification TS61400-23 for a design life of twenty years in high wind and high turbulence conditions.

A common difficulty with laminated timber construction is finding a method to attach the timber to other solid structures. This is a particular problem in the laminated timber Windflow wind turbine blade as a rigid connection must be made to steel hub. This connection must be strong enough to transfer the bending loads in the blade in wind speeds up to 110 kmph with a large safety margin. A failure of this connection would be catastrophic for the turbine.

Windflow developed a clever solution to this problem by gluing 34 tapered steel inserts know as “carrots” into the end of the laminated timber blades. This involved developing special processes and tools to insert the carrots precisely in the blade. Special glue to fix the carrots into the blade was also developed in conjunction with an adhesive supplier.

Project Location:

Christchurch and Palmerston North

Awards:

NZ Wood Timber Design Awards 2010
Highly Commended - Outdoor Infrastructure
Clever Wood Solution Award