New £2.4m centre to carry out large-scale testing of tidal blades

摘要

The University of Edinburgh and Babcock International have revealed plans for a new £2.4m composites test facility, located at Babcock's Rosyth dockyard in Fife.Known as Fastblade, it will be the first centre of its kind to carry out large-scale accelerated testing of tidal blades. According to Babcock, the facility will employ complex testing equipment that will simulatereal-world forces, helping to speed up product development cycles. At the heart of this will be a hydraulic system that enables structures to be tested more efficiently than existing technologies. The system will also recover energy between load cycles, reducing the cost of testing.