Case Study: Acciona Energy extends wind turbine blade life with Akselos RB-FEA

Acciona Energy - Customer Case Study

Acciona Energy, a wind farm operator, faced the challenge of assessing the remaining life in aging wind turbine blades. The original design calculations, using old methods, were inefficient, making it difficult and time-consuming to model how much longer the turbines could safely operate. As part of its "Turbines for Life" program, Acciona engaged vendor Akselos to address this using their RB-FEA (Reduced Basis Finite Element Analysis) technology.

Akselos implemented its RB-FEA solution to create a highly detailed digital twin of a wind turbine blade. This model, containing 6.1 million degrees of freedom, could be solved in seconds instead of the days required by traditional FEA. As a result, Akselos enabled Acciona to clearly identify potential risk areas and confidently unlock an additional 5 years of life for the turbine blade, supporting asset life extension and predictive maintenance.

Acciona Energy

Belen Linares

Innovation Director