Suzlon Blade Technology (SBT) in Hengelo, Netherlands, is the local branch of Suzlon Energy Ltd. Within SBT a group of experienced and passionate engineers design the rotor blades for the wind turbines which are in operation worldwide. The many engineers of SBT have varying and different technical backgrounds. Together we have delivered rotor blades that became longer and longer, have greater energy yields and contain state-of-the-art composite technology. The SBT teams in Hengelo closely cooperate with the SBT offices in India.
What we do
At SBT we take care of the full design and validation cycle of the new rotor blades that are designed by a multi-disciplinary team. Starting with market requirements we design and choose the aerodynamic profiles. Various load iterations are required to evaluate and optimize the rotor blade performance in combination with other wind turbine components. The structural design of the new rotor blade comes to completion using advanced simulation software and inputs from material technology and composite component tests. Hence ensuring reliable rotor blade designs that allow for at least 20 years of operation in the field. Our tooling design and process design engineers ensure that the new rotor blade can be manufactured in one of the many rotor blade manufacturing facilities of Suzlon Energy Ltd. in India.
Competences and Careers
SBT is permanently looking for new employees in the various domains as well as for industrial and academic competence partners who could contribute in supporting us in next generation technology developments. Future employees could contribute in existing rotor blade design projects for which we require various areas of expertise to complete the design cycle. Since SBT is also focussing on improving the existing fleet of wind turbines and their rotor blades, we also need engineers with expertise on production optimization processes. We are continuously looking for opportunities to improve the Levelized-Cost-of-Energy of our existing products. Students looking for short-term assignments on any of our expertise areas are invited to inquire for current positions and may send us their motivated request.
Areas of Expertise
Aerodynamics
The engineers of the Aero team design, develop and assess new airfoils. They contribute to Suzlon’s new product development by performing loads evaluations, computational fluid dynamics assessments and field tests on prototype and operational wind turbines in the field. For novel airfoil designs they use in-house obtained data from wind tunnel tests that were prepared
Structural Design
The Structural designers perform structural calculations using advanced Finite Element software tools and determine and define the building blocks for the new rotor blades. This team generates and assesses novel structural design concepts which may be used for next generation blade designs. Full scale rotor blade tests are prepared and executed under guidance of the
Materials Design
The Materials team consists of material specialists with in-depth knowledge on material properties as well as application of materials in composite structures. They develop novel material concepts, closely interact with existing and new materials suppliers and perform component and process tests in SBT’s in-house laboratory. The team also has close working relationships with academic partners
Process Design
The engineers of the Process Design team understand what it takes to manufacture a rotor blade. They design and develop manufacturing processes and combine insights and expertise from a composite material processing perspective. The angle and requirements from the manufacturing units are important drivers in the design. This domain covers the full manufacturing process starting
Tooling Design
Using advanced Computer Aided 3-dimensional Interactive software tools this group of engineers design the manufactoring tools that are required to produce the rotor blades. They hence work in close cooperating with the Process Design teams and the manufacturing units. Moulds for blade shells as well as the prefab moulds are designed and specified by this
Product Support
This group of engineers are the linking pin between the rotor blade designers and the plant managers and quality engineers working in the manufacturing facilities. They play an important role in rotor blade prototyping and the roll-out of new products and ramp-up of production in the manufacturing facilities. The team provides continued support (helpdesk) to
Project Management
New Product Development projects within SBT are managed by project managers. With a multi-disciplinary and globally spread team of engineers they reach milestones and deliver what is required. Also the Value Engineering and Process Improvement programmes are managed by the Project Management group of SBT. They play an important role in scoping the project, monitoring
More about Suzlon Global and Suzlon’s Products & Services