R&D Test Systems, Conquering Rain Erosion: Unraveling the Complex Puzzle!

Rain erosion wreaking havoc on wind turbine blades stands tall among the toughest engineering challenges to conquer. Tackling this tempestuous problem head-on, R&D Test Systems, hailing from Denmark, emerges as the pioneer behind cutting-edge rain erosion test rigs, extensively employed worldwide to meet the exacting demands of both the wind and aerospace industries. Niels Pedersen, the esteemed Key Account Manager at R&D Test Systems, takes Uptime listeners on an expedition through the labyrinth of rain erosion quandaries, offering a breakdown of the inner workings of the erosion test equipment and glimpses into the forthcoming generation of rain erosion weaponry that will soon find its rightful place at DTU - a leap forward into an even more resilient future. R&D Test Systems - https://www.rd-as.comPardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWind Power Lab - https://windpowerlab.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!  R&D Test Systems Allen Hall: Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I'm your host Allen Hall, president of Weather Guard Lightning Tech, and today we're talking about a major issue facing the wind industry. Leading edge erosion. Leading edge erosion is, is damaged, caused by leading edges of wind turbine blades that hit raindrops, hail, dust, sand, all kinds of particles. It can lead to a decrease in efficiency, power output, and even premature failure of blades. Engineers and scientists are working on new materials to mitigate leading edge erosion, but they need to be thoroughly tested before being used on a wind turbine. That's where R&D Test Systems come in. R&D Test Systems builds the whirling arm rain erosion test equipment that many of you have seen on LinkedIn and YouTube. Now, this test equipment simulates raindrops impacting a wind turbine blade or aircraft up to 170 meters per second. That's about 600 kilometers per hour. That's really fast. To discuss this remarkable piece of equipment we have Niels Pedersen, Key Account Manager with R&D Test Systems. Niels, welcome to the program. Niels Pedersen: Thank you, Allen.  Allen Hall: So leading edge erosion is this massive issue, which affects pretty much every operator in the world. And the, the, the one complaint is there's, it is just everywhere and we don't know what to do about it....