BLOCK is proving to be a reliable project partner in the areas of research, development and production for perfectly coordinated products in wind energy systems.
› Wide standard range with a comprehensive choice of designs
› High level of vertical integration and proven quality standards
› Application-specific EMI concepts and filter design in the BLOCK test laboratory or on site
› All usual international standards covered
› Flexible production and development of special solutions
The wind energy sector is the greatest driver of the energy transition. More than 100 billion kWh of electricity are generated from wind power each year in Germany alone. This makes the country one of Europe’s biggest wind energy suppliers, and at the same time it is also a site for major producers of onshore and offshore plants.
NUMEROUS STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN A VALUE CHAIN
Constructing a wind turbine is a major project. Suppliers and manufacturers of components from various sectors of industry form central parts of the value chain. Reliable and experienced partners are crucial for the success of the project on time and on budget. Aside from being a supplier of components, BLOCK is also above all an experienced project partner with the highest development and research expertise, providing rapid and expert support for wind energy solutions.
BLOCK – KNOW-HOW, EXPERIENCE AND RELIABILITY FOR RAPID SERIES PRODUCTION
A wind turbine features lots of components installed for the purposes of supplying clean energy to the mains, such as transformers, power supplies, reactors and filters. As a result of its many years of experience, BLOCK has the benefit of expertise gained from the numerous development projects that it has implemented. We can use various case studies in order to put forward the optimum solution in terms of maximum efficiency, minimum costs, most compact design, and maximum output. Depending on the requirements, we present the optimal solution when it comes to maximum efficiency, minimal costs, smallest construction volume, or highest performance. For this purpose, we gladly invite you to a Technology Day in advance, where we can develop the best possible solution in a workshop. About 80 BLOCK engineers and technicians demonstrate their expertise and commitment to highly complex products with the highest quality and performance standards.
DIGITAL TWIN AS A PROJECT PROTOTYPE FOR RAPID DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES
Questions frequently arise regarding the precise electrical and thermal behavior of the components in the overall system, particularly at the early stages of the project. The latest comprehensive technical options for developing and producing customer-specific products are available at our Development Center at the Verden site. These types of questions can be clarified in advance thanks to model-based development using digital mapping. Analytical and numeric simulation techniques as well as prototype measurements at our own testing and measurement center, BLOCKLab, speed up the development process.
Losses, thermal behavior and inductance characteristics can be tested in advance and developed further based on customer-specific requirements.
BLOCK provides rapid and expert development support for the best availability of the wind turbine through case studies, numerical and analytical simulation techniques, internal measurements and customer workshops.
INDUCTIVE COMPONENTS FOR A CLEAN ENERGY PRODUCTION SYSTEM
Inverters installed in the plant ensure that the energy produced is supplied to the network, the generator receives the required magnetization, the fins are adjusted and the gondola is aligned toward the wind. Inductive components are in use everywhere, as the frequency inverter alone does not generate a pure sinusoidal signal. Electrical filters between the inverter and motor smooth the frequency and thereby protect the network, generator and motors in the wind turbine system. Sine filters are used to attenuate the inverter’s clock signal and the edge steepness in frequency inverter controlled generators and motors in pitch adjustment. This way they effectively protect the motor isolation and thereby extend its lifetime within the overall drive system. All-pole sine filters also allow unshielded cables to be used.
Sine filters and all-pole sine filters protect the generator and motors installed in the gondola and the pitch adjustment.
Common mode currents and therefore leakage current and differential mode current ripple are minimized through passive LC or LCL filters for optimum EMC performance, e.g. in order to ensure a network connection free from interference for distributed production plants with the supply network in accordance with IEEE 1547.
The Future Winding technology developed by BLOCK leads to a dramatic increase in lifetime and power density for inductive components. This results in far more durable products being available on the market with increased power density for establishing drive systems in wind turbines than is otherwise the case.
Solutions with forced cooling or direct liquid cooling are suitable depending on the application case, adapted for maximum efficiency or compactness, which we deliver as a sub-system in the housing to form a comprehensive solution. This enables maximum power density in the smallest space.
UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLIES FOR RELIABLE FUELING
In terms of supplying the fueling lighting, robust power supplies and UPS systems with modular rechargeable battery management provide a reliable solution when it comes to plant safety and security. All information from the UPS systems is available to the higher level controls at all times for preventive maintenance via an IO link.
PRODUCTS FOR WIND ENERGY – ROBUST TESTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STRICTEST QUALITY RULES AND STANDARDS
BLOCK products are pre-tested in line with their application and also ensure conformity at the same time through standardized measurements. Mechanical and thermal tests carried out at the BLOCKLab simulate usage under challenging conditions and enable us to deliver robust products for durable plants in energy production systems with maximum availability. Products are certified in accordance with DNV, GL, UL or VDE as standard. BLOCK wind energy solutions are totally resistant to the typical environmental influences at a wind turbine site. Customer-specific products in the wind energy sector benefit from special production processes such as UNICORE production, and outstanding electrical steel processing with steel sheets 0.1 mm thin, in order to produce products with maximum efficiency.
SOLID STATE TRANSFORMERS, SILICON CARBIDE SEMICONDUCTORS AND COUPLED INDUCTORS – BLOCK CUSTOMERS ENJOY THE BENEFIT OF THE LATEST TRENDS IN RESEARCH
BLOCK keeps up with the latest market trends thanks to its cross-sectoral experience and extensive partnerships and activities in research and development. Our engineers engage in international discussions and close collaboration with research centers, and are involved in standardization and professional associations in order to collaborate proactively on trends, acquire new knowledge, and use this in projects. Aside from years of project experience, industry stakeholders, including those outside of the wind energy sector, also benefit from cross-sectoral research knowledge for the latest state-of-the-art solutions.
