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The reserve of petroleum decreases gradually. The development of alternative energies is the most important topic internationally. Among alternative energies, the wind power is the most promising one. The power generating efficiency of a wind turbine depends on aerodynamic characteristics of its blades. Also, the serve life of blades affects the overall cost of power generated. Therefore, structure tests of blades to understand their behavior under loads become necessary. Hydraulic system has been used on lots of kinds of equipments generally. It has many advantages; such as it can provide greater strength and has smaller volume compared to other actuator systems. These advantages make the system become an essential part in industrial applications. In this study, we used a hydraulic system to provide loadings to a blade that simulate the actual wind loading on the blade during operations of a wind turbine. We developed a computer interface to the programmable logic controller that controls the hydraulic system, and then control several valves and hydraulic cylinders of the hydraulic power system to apply loadings to the blade. In the interface, we can control the hydraulic pressure, flow speed, cylinder position of the hydraulic system. An experimental setup for blade test of a 25 kW wind turbine system was designed and installed. Some limit load cases of the blade were also tested in this study.
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