Welding process for wind turbines increases production speed

Welding Welding process: Producing wind turbines eight times faster

2024-04-19 Source: BAM | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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Scientists from WeldNova, a spin-off of theGerman Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), have developed a welding process for wind turbines that increases the production speed of wind giants eightfold.

Through the use of electromagnets, a spin-off from BAM wants to reduce the welding time of wind towers from 96 to 12 hours.(Image: Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM)) — Through the use of electromagnets, a spin-off from BAM wants to reduce the welding time of wind towers from 96 to 12 hours.
(Image: Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM))

The construction of steel towers for wind turbines poses significant challenges for the industry: The weld seams alone on modern wind towers add up to a length of about 700 meters and require almost 100 hours of work. As a result, the production capacity of German plants is limited to about 520 steel towers per year - half of what federal government expansion targets propose.

Currently, wind towers are joined using the submerged arc welding process. To be able to join component thicknesses of 25 mm, many layers are required. This not only leads to very high material consumption (additional material, powder), but also to high energy input. Overall, wind towers are produced with a very high amount of time and financial costs.

This is how the magnet system works

Welding thick-walled components in the tank position (PA position) is difficult due to the increased hydrostatic pressure and the resulting droplet formation on the root side. If the surface tension can no longer compensate for the hydrostatic pressure, the molten metal will drip out. To prevent this, a melt pool support is often used. However, conventional bath supports made of ceramic, for example, require time-consuming mechanical removal. The contactless magnetic weld pool support counteracts the gravity-induced dripping of the melt and compensates for the hydrostatic pressure, opening up completely new possibilities in the use of high-performance welding processes. The effective range of the magnetic field is large, so that even low positioning accuracies do not restrict the result of the weld seam.

A spin-off from the Wind@BAM competence centre of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing has now found a smart solution to the problem: The scientists at WeldNova have developed an electromagnetic system that accompanies the welding process and enables the use of the more efficient laser hybrid welding method. This allows 25 mm thick components to be welded in just one layer. Additionally, a higher welding speed can be achieved, resulting in a significant time saving. The welding time is reduced to just under twelve hours, corresponding to an efficiency increase by a factor of 8. At the same time, only 900 instead of the previous 4000 kilowatt-hours of energy are needed. This not only saves on material consumption, but also significantly reduces CO2 emissions. Users can save time not only in the welding process; seam preparation is no longer necessary. Even components that have been prepared with a flame cut can be easily joined.

Experience welding technology at the Hanover Fair

The new process is designed to provide crucial competitive advantages for the German wind industry and can also be used in the construction of hydrogen pipelines, liquefied gas containers, or bridges. For the first time, experts will have the opportunity to learn about the advantages of the new welding technology using an interactive model at the Hanover Fair 2024.

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