Vestas V117 Blade Test Drive Success
The Collett Team were approached to undertake the 200 mile wind turbine blade test drive from King George V Docks, Glasgow with a 57m loaded vehicle.
The 57m length of the proposed blade required some expert planning by the Collett Transport Consulting Team to ensure that the test drive could be completed accurately, efficiently and with minimal disruption to other road users. The current blade test piece which Collett regularly use to simulate turbine components was deemed unsuitable as the proposed Vestas blade had a 14m overhang at the rear of the trailer. Mindful that the simulated load must be easily adaptable to ensure safe passage through roundabouts and tight junctions, the Collett Team set to designing a solution to overcome this.
After a couple of weeks designing, creating and modifying the Team presented the new test piece, featuring a rear turntable effectively enabling us to adjust the 14m rear projection of the blade. This would allow us to test the route with the accurate vehicle dimensions and still be able to navigate tricky sections without having to remove the test piece.
On a dark and cold morning in November at 5:30am, representatives from Collett, Scottish Power Renewables and local Police Constabularies were on site at King George V Docks and ready to begin. The 4 axle trailer was extended to 43m and the test piece assembled with the newly added turntable to facilitate the 14m rear overhang of the proposed blade.
Filming the entire transportation from Glasgow to the proposed site, the Collett Team were then able to identify any street furniture removal requirements, potential pinch points, traffic management and manual steering requirements along the 200 mile route.
Congratulations to all the Team who were involved in this project, job well done!
