Blade-pitch controls can fail in cold weather and high winds, but Moog says its Pitchmaster withstands temperatures from -22 to 158F.
After taking a 40% ownership stake in privately held LTi REEnergy GmbH last June, Moog Inc, East Aurora, NY, has acquired the remaining 60% of the Germany-based company . The deal lets Moog acquire two manufacturing and testing facilities, one in Unna, Germany and the other in Shanghai, China, along with an electric wind-turbine blade pitch control system that complements Moog’s existing pitch controls, rotor monitoring, and slip-ring products. Blade-pitch systems control rotor speed and, therefore, efficiency of wind turbines.
The LTi REEnergy products acquired by Moog include Pitchmaster servodrives, motors, emergency back-up systems, a control system, and software for remote diagnostics and back-up power. Most blade-pitch controls reside in the wind-turbine hub where temperature and motion can be extreme. If, for example, a wind turbine loses electrical power, then the blade-pitch control taps its battery power to gauge speed, adjusts the turbine’s blades, and puts the rotor into a safe operating mode to protect the entire unit from damage.
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