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Wind Casting Research Team Wins $300,000 Grant |
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Released on December 8, 2011
A research group at the Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, has been awarded a $300,000 grant to improve ductile iron castings for use in wind turbines.
The grant was given to a team led by Christoph Beckerman, Univ. of Iowa Foundation Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and director of the Solidification Laboratory at the university. Allocated by the Iowa Alliance for Wind Innovation and Novel Development, the grant will be matched by Clipper Windpower, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the North American Ductile Iron Co. (Nadicom).
“The wind industry is highly pressured to meet demand, with a current bottleneck concentrated on the ability to produce castings that meet required quality levels,” Beckerman said. “This research will result in more reliable and higher quality casings that are less prone to failure in the field.”
Clipper is an established player in wind energy technology, wind turbine manufacturing and wind project development. Nadicom announced plans earlier this year to locate its first North American ductile iron casting facility in Iowa City. The $85 million metalcasting plant will have the capacity to cast and machine large castings with an initial focus on the wind turbine market.
According to Beckerman, the goal of the research is to develop methodology for advanced casting of wind turbine components that result in reduced weight, greater reliability and longer life, thus providing lower electricity costs. He said the project leverages a decade of U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored research in the Solidification Laboratory on integrated design of castings and indicated additional interest in the project from other manufacturers that use castings, including Deere & Co., Caterpillar and Oshkosh Corp.
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