Structural Composites Research Facility (FastBlade)

EPSRC Strategic Equipment Facility Grant to build a marine tidal turbine blade testing facility using unique novel pumping technology.

This project will build the first fatigue test facility for large stiff composite structures including tidal blades, bridge sections and pipe sections. It will do this using unique pumping technology that reduces the cost and time of testing radically by up to 80% of present cost, and reducing test time from 4 years to 4 months. This will make fatigue testing feasible for blade developers, and drive forward the development and deployment of marine tidal turbine systems and other composite structures. This will help de-risk these ventures and accelerate their development, leading to an increased level of renewable energy generation in he economy.