ONERA — the French aerospace lab — is working to improve large scale turbines. They’re turning their past work with helicopter rotors to generating power, rather than using it.

It seems like an even larger wind turbine goes up every week — some as large as 6 megawatts. A turbine that large requires blades weighing 20 tons, a weight that puts significant stresses on the less-than-flexible polyester resins that make up most blades. That guarantees that larger turbines will wear out rapidly, leaving more room for turbine accidents.

But ONERA believes that their researchers can significantly improve on current designs, making them both more durable and more efficient. One such researcher believes exactly that: "There are constant unhookings of the limiting layer in wind turbines. When the blades start, it's because of the sections closest to the rotor. Once the wind picks up, these sections don't work any more because the air is unhooking, and it's the ends of the blades that are doing the work. Thus, only 30-40% of the blade is working to transfer energy during normal operation."

ONERA’s research is really just beginning, but they are pursuing a number of avenues of research: they’re looking for ways to make wind turbines as much as 30 percent more effective and to make the blades more supple in order to slow wear and tear.

Photo — Warrenski