Training courses for the wind energy industry

The use of wind energy has grown in Germany in recent years. Indeed Germany has for many year been one of the leading countries exploiting wind energy. At the same time the requirements of the wind energy sector on the wind turbines has continually increased. Modern wind turbines aim to maximize power and minimize operating costs, and consequently ever higher demands are put on the materials that are used to build wind turbines. The materials must be taken into account and optimized in the product development phase. Fiber composite materials are used to manufacture rotor blades and nacelles for wind turbines. The advantages of these materials for the wind energy industry: Components are of lower weight but can still withstand high dynamic forces and deformation by wind and weather for long periods. The design can also be adapted to aerodynamic requirements. Adhesive bonding is also being increasingly used as a joining technique in wind turbine manufacture. The use of adhesive bonding enables the most suitable materials for wind turbines (e.g. fiber composites) to be efficiently joined.

The more commonplace the use of adhesive bonding and fiber composites becomes in the wind energy industry, the greater the need for technicians to become familiar with the special features of these processes and materials. Errors in the processing or with material selection or an inability to identify damage can have serious consequences for the construction and operation of wind turbines. For the wind energy sector, the training courses of Fraunhofer IFAM are therefore an important foundation for utilizing the benefits of fiber composites and adhesive bonding.