SIEMENS

Left: The world's longest windmill rotor blade heads for testing in Österild, Denmark.
Right: Components are driven 450 kilometers through Thailand.

Siemens’ newest rotor blade is 75 meters long — a world record. The gigantic rotor blades, which are made from glass fiber and balsa wood, will be used in the latest generation of windmills, which boast an output of six megawatts (MW). A wind turbine’s energy yield depends on the area swept by its rotor blades as they rotate. In the case of the new Siemens rotor, that amounts to some 18,600 square meters, the equivalent of around two-and-a-half soccer fields. The blades will be tested in Österild, Denmark, on the latest prototype for the 6 MW machines. To this end, the giants were driven 320 kilometers from the port city of Esbjerg in Denmark by trucks that were 85 meters in length. The trip took up to eight hours because the trucks were limited to a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour due to their 25 ton cargoes. Transporting the huge rotor blades was not only a technological and logistical challenge; it also required all the skills the truck drivers could muster. There were several tricky sections along the route. The trucks had to navigate their way around nine traffic circles. Along the way, six light poles and 11 traffic signs had to be removed so that the trucks could pass. Wind turbine components also have to travel long distances in Asia. In fact, in one case, manufactured components are shipped all the way from China to Thailand. On arrival at a port south of Bangkok, they are then transported 450 kilometers by truck to the northern city of Korat, where 90 Siemens wind turbines are being installed. As the largest road freight delivery in Thailand’s history, this trip is also unique.

Drones can keep chronological tabs on construction sites.

Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) is using a new imaging technique to document progress in the Aspern lakeside construction project in Vienna, Austria. Developed by CT researchers from the Sustainable Cities lighthouse project, the technique makes it possible to photogrammetrically analyze construction sites, buildings and infrastructure projects from above, thus optimizing processes and saving time and money. Up until now, such sites have either been surveyed at ground level — for example, using laser scanners — or monitored with webcams. In order to analyze a future system that will document construction phases, the research team recently conducted a test flight using a small drone. Its camera took photos of the southern section of the Aspern site and of all sides of a building being built there. The collected data will form the basis of a photogrammetric, chronological analysis that can be used to create a 3D model. The model will then be combined with planning and logistics data, resulting in a hybrid model that can be referred to for a range of questions. The system is not only suitable for external areas, but can be applied to overall condition evaluation, maintenance, and service of interiors as well.

Magnets at CERN stay cool thanks to Siemens automation.

What is probably the world’s largest research machine is located at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. The goal of the CERN research center is to discover and study new particles. The facility’s centerpiece is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator, which is 27 kilometers long and housed in a tunnel system 100 meters below ground. The LHC causes protons to collide at near-light speeds. On July 4, 2012, LHC researchers discovered a new particle that is 133 times heavier than a proton. They believe their discovery could be the Higgs boson — a particle that physicists have been trying to find for 50 years. The Higgs boson could explain why elementary particles possess mass. Trying to detect this particle during collisions was like looking for a pair of sand grains with specific properties in an Olympic-sized swimming pool full of sand. For their experiments, scientists need to use powerful magnets that are chilled to minus 271 degrees Celsius with superfluid helium. To precisely regulate the helium distribution using special valves, Siemens developed a totally new automation system with 1,800 individual controllers. It will also be used with the giant ATLAS detector, which is as big as a church nave.

Tracking wheels with a Rail Bearing Acoustic Monitor.

Trains need to be as safe and reliable as possible. Wheelsets are often a problem because they are particularly susceptible to defects and wear and tear. In cooperation with Track IQ of Kent Town, South Australia, Siemens has developed a monitoring device known as Rail BAM (Rail Bearing Acoustic Monitor) that can detect damage to wheelsets at an early stage. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the device “hears” rather than detects damage. After all, it consists not only of signal processing electronics housed in cases at the side of the tracks but also sound-wave sensors mounted on railroad ties. The sensors record the sound waves from passing trains. These are sent to a processor that compares the signals with predefined target patterns. The processor immediately reports acoustic deviations that indicate wear or a defective component. If an anomaly is detected, the train in question can later be brought to a repair yard without interruption to normal service. The system is currently being used near Southampton, in the United Kingdom.

Testing a PEM-equipped electrolyzer at Siemens.

In September 2012, Siemens joined Europe’s most extensive demonstration project in the area of hydrogen mobility: the Clean Energy Partnership. Siemens’ role in the project, which includes leading industrial companies, will be to equip hydrogen filling stations for vehicles with an electrolysis system based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology. Electrolysis is the process by which electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Siemens’ electrolyzer works much faster than conventional systems. It can react to changes in the availability of electricity in milliseconds. The Siemens system supplies clean hydrogen gas, meaning at least half of the material is produced using electricity generated from renewable sources. Siemens will supply its PEM electrolyzer to one of the 50 filling stations now being set up as part of a German government program.