We4Ce’s Solution for Stronger Blade Root Bushings

Allen Hall and Joel Saxum discuss the critical issue of failed blade bolt inserts with Edo Kuipers of We4Ce. Edo explains the problem, its widespread impact on the wind energy sector, and introduces We4Ce's innovative solution - an upgraded blade bolt insert that can be retrofitted in the field, potentially saving operators significant downtime and repair costs. 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! Pardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com Allen Hall: Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I'm your host, Allen Hall, along with my co host, Joel Saxum. On this episode, we're addressing a critical issue that is plaguing the wind energy sector, the problem of failed blade bolt inserts in wind turbine blades. And these failures have a significant concern for wind energy operators, leading to downtime, costly repairs, and the potential for liberated blades. Our guest is Edo Kuipers, owner and engineering manager of We4Ce. And We4Ce is based in the Netherlands. We foresee offers a range of services related to the design and engineering of wind turbine rotor blades. And they have designed an upgraded blade bolt insert that can be retrofitted in the field. And this new insert product could dramatically lower a wind turbine operator's downtime and blade repair costs. Edo, welcome to the show. Edo Kuipers: Thanks for having me here, Allen and Joel. Allen Hall: So this is a really interesting product, but I first, I want to get to how big of a problem do we have in the industry? And Joel and I have been traveling around the United States quite a bit. And pretty much every farm we stopped at had blade bolt insert issues. They didn't know why they were having them, but they had them and they were deeply concerned about it because of what could happen to the turban. And Edo, are you seeing the same thing? Are you getting a lot of reach out that way? Edo Kuipers: Yeah, more and more we see this. I think in 2021, we were contacted by the Indian market for the first time. Those were 40 meter long blades, 1. 5 megawatt platform. And those blades were like 13 years on the turbine. And then all suddenly started flying off basically. And more and more recently, this is popping up basically not after 13 years, but after six years, for example, already on a 2. x platform. So yeah, we have been contacted first on the Indian side. We have seen it in Brazil. We have seen it in Thailand, for example, also. So it's more and more addressing the problem. Also from the Northern America, we have the first context. Joel Saxum: So I think that if we describe basically the breadth of the problem so there's the, when you bolt the blades on, and if you're in a, if you're a wind technician, this stuff, right? You've seen it, you've done it. You've been around these things. For some people that are, yeah, some people that aren't as technician minded, you may not know exactly what the problem is, but what it is basically when you bolt the blades onto the hub, there's all these studs, right? And the studs come through, or the studs stick out, you stick it into the receptor on the basically on the hub, and then you bolt 'em on. But if the, where the stud connects into the blade. It doesn't stay true to its design and becomes loose, it starts to move, then however it's bolted doesn't matter at all. Edo Kuipers: Correct. Also, it's not a bolt problem, it's the connection between the steel bushing itself.