Ekspan completes huge test rig work
Ekspan engineering company has created a giant testing rig for some of the biggest wind turbines ever to be constructed.
Ekspan, of Brightside Lane, Attercliffe, has designed, manufactured and installed some of the largest fabricated parts to ever leave Sheffield, which test the reliability of the turbine’s 80 metre long blades.
The blades are the length of nine double-decker buses, and will be on the turbines positioned offshore in worldwide locations.
Ekspan worked with other businesses in the Sheffield region for the project.
“This unique opportunity to showcase the talents of our city region has resulted in economic benefits for of over £3m from this project alone,” said Ekspan chief executive Matthew Dronfield.
“The blades are tested for dynamic lifetime and static limit testing designed to take each blade structure to its breaking point.”
The test rig left Davy Markham, Sheffield on Wednesday March 13 on its way by road and sea to the test facility located in the Isle of Wight.