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Understanding the Manufacturing Process and Materials of Wind Turbine Flanges

Top 7 steps for wind tower manufacturing process

Top 8 Steps Of Wind Turbine Flange Production

We’ve covered everything you need to know about the manufacturing process and materials used in wind tower flange production. You should also check out our Wind Tower Bending Machine page.

PRV Plate Rolling Machine for Wind Tower Manufacturing

Wind tower flanges, also known as wind tower flanges, are components used to connect tower sections or towers with rings, and rings with the middle of the blades. They are generally connected using bolts.

Typically, wind turbines range from 65 meters to 100 meters or more in height. For ease of transportation, tower sections are usually divided into three segments for production and transportation. They are divided into approximately three hundred segments from top to bottom. During the manufacturing process, flanges are required for the connection of the first segment. Flanges for tower sections have strict requirements for welding deformation, often specifying inward flanges. Subsequently, assembly is carried out at the construction site.

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The production process of wind turbine flanges

  1. Raw material refining and export inspection board: This is a board or equipment used for refining treatment and pre-export flaw detection of raw materials. X-ray flaw detection is a commonly used method for detecting defects, cracks, or other issues in materials. By using X-rays, the internal structure of materials can be inspected to identify potential flaws. This inspection method is crucial because it ensures that the material quality meets relevant standards and requirements, thereby ensuring the safety and reliability of the final product.
  2. Raw material inspection by the Technical Supervision Bureau upon arrival: Upon arrival at the factory, raw materials are inspected or reviewed by the Technical Supervision Bureau. This is to ensure that the quality and specifications of the raw materials meet relevant standards and requirements.
  3. Cutting by large and medium-sized CNC sawing machines: Raw materials are cut using large and medium-sized CNC sawing machines. CNC sawing machines can accurately cut materials using computer programs to obtain the desired dimensions and shapes.
  4. Heating of raw materials in heat treatment furnaces: Raw materials are heated in heat treatment furnaces for heat treatment. This step aims to change the physical properties of raw materials or prepare for subsequent processing steps. Heat treatment is a process that changes the structure and properties of materials by controlling heating and cooling processes. In this stage, the heat treatment furnace heats the raw materials to specific temperatures to achieve the desired heat treatment objectives, which may include improving the hardness, strength, toughness, or other mechanical properties of the materials to meet specific engineering requirements.
  5. Continuous punching and forming by top-grade punching machines: Raw materials are continuously punched and formed by top-grade punching machines to achieve the desired shape. This prepares for subsequent steps, such as installing flanges or other connecting components on the raw materials.
  6. Quenching and tempering treatment: Improves the mechanical properties of raw materials through quenching and tempering treatment. Quenching is a rapid cooling process for materials, while tempering involves reheating and cooling materials to alleviate the brittleness caused by quenching.
  7. Initial processing after tempering treatment: After tempering treatment is completed, raw materials are initially processed. This may include cutting, shaping, or other operations to prepare for subsequent processing steps.
  8. Precision machining after passing qualification inspection: Raw materials that have passed initial processing and quality inspection undergo more precise machining. This may include precision machining, surface treatment, and other steps to ensure the quality and precision of the final product.

Conclusion

The above is all the content regarding the manufacturing process of wind turbine flanges. We hope everyone can gain some understanding.

The raw material for wind turbine tower flanges is weldable fine-grained structural steel S355NL or low-alloy high-strength steel Q345E. Therefore, it has a low carbon content, with manganese being the main strengthening factor, and some refined grain refining elements added. Its carbon equivalent value (CEV) generally does not exceed 0.43, making it have good welding properties. After forging, and then undergoing a certain heat treatment, excellent comprehensive mechanical properties can be obtained, making it the main raw material for producing wind turbine flanges.