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The Fulcrum3D Sodar is more flexible than a Met Mast, and lower cost than a Lidar. The Fulcrum3D Sodar provides data on wind conditions including wind speed, wind direction, wind speed vector standard deviation and inflow angle (related to vertical wind speed). Data from optional sensors such as temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation etc. is also provided.

Fulcrum3D Sodar is the best priced Sodar on the market. The flexibility of the Fulcrum3D Sodar and its optional equipment adds significant value to your development, operational performance or other applications.

Fulcrum3D Sodar Base Function

ALL Fulcrum3D Sodar packages include these base functionalities

3D wind data (speed, direction and inflow angle) from 40m to 200m in 10m range bins
Vaisala HMP60 (temperature, humidity) sensor, upgradable to WXT520 multi-weather sensor
GPS for security, tracking and geofencing
Solar power supply and remote communications (GSM 3G/4G, satellite optional)
Flightdeck access to all data – remote and 24/7

SodarF3D Cold
Climate Package

Suitable for mild winters where average temperatures are below zero, but snow is uncommon and good solar energy input is available.

Base function elements as detailed above
Insulated and temperature regulated enclosure for batteries and power conversion electronics
Battery heaters ensure operation in cold temperatures
Snow and frost clearing by direct and indirect heating of the sonic reflector panels
Standard 110/230V power connections (for external mains power or diesel generator) and fuel cell options

Solar and Weather Sensors

Our standard hardware can be expanded to include additional solar and weather sensors.

Pyranometers
Pyrheliometers
Rain sensors
Pressure sensors
Wind sensors

45W Fuel Cell (optional)

Recommended where solar input levels are low, frost levels likely to be high, or limited snow melting may be required
Upgrades cold climate package with EFOY Pro 800 Duo Fuel Cell complete with 4x28L M28 Methanol Cartridges
Provides 45W of electric power and 150W heating capacity for thermal management and limited snow melting

110W Fuel Cell (optional)

Recommended where snow melting is likely to be required for an extended period, or average temperatures are below -20 deg C
Upgrades cold climate package with EFOY Pro 2400 Duo Fuel Cell complete with 4x28l M28 Methanol Cartridges
Provides 110W of electric power and 350W heating capacity for thermal management and limited snow melting

Benefits

1
Fulcrum3D Sodar delivers precise, validated and bankable wind data

Validation by DNV-GL, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Entura.

DNV GL accepts Fulcrum3D Sodar data in bankable wind energy assessments on benign sites.

2
Flexible and simple

Generally does not require a planning permit to install, enabling more data captured and faster. The easily portable unit allows monitoring at a number of locations around your site to significantly reduce uncertainty.

3
Terrain flexible

Performs well in complex and simple terrain and housed in a robust, portable unit.

4
Cost effective and efficient deployment

More flexible than a Met Mast, lower cost than a Lidar. Significantly cheaper than a Hub Height Mast – in some cases half the cost.

5
24/7 online access to your data, manage your equipment

FlightDECK™ collects, stores and verifies your data for secure, fast download for self managed equipment locations and configurations.

6
Full data traceability

Incorporates fully traceable data architecture, sending all raw sound spectrum data to the Fulcrum3D servers for off-site processing while saved in secure back-up storage.

Applications

The Fulcrum3D Sodar is the best system to provide high quality wind data for a variety of applications, for example:

Resource assessment – prospecting for sites and proving wind resource;

Power curve verification – confirming turbine performance in a variety of wind conditions;

Performance monitoring – maximise the long term performance of your asset;

Wind forecasting – for energy sales or optimising network integration.

Site prospecting

Eliminate poor sites and identify the most viable sites with confidence
Fulcrum3D Sodar can be easily moved between different site prospects for wind or background noise assessments
Relocation only takes a few hours and requires no additional expenditure
No planning approvals are needed
Avoid the cost of expensive Met Masts

Site yield assessment

Accepted by DNV GL for use in bankable energy yield assessments
Use on a stand-alone basis
Supplement an existing Met Mast to provide additional measurement locations on site
Particularly useful for short term “infill” campaigns to take additional measurements near existing Met Masts

Wind shear verification

Fulcrum3D Sodar measures across the ENTIRE wind turbine area significantly reducing uncertainty and improving potential financing and project returns
Most Met Masts cover less than half the wind turbine swept area, leading to a significant decrease in yield certainty
Extend measurements above Met Masts with side by side comparisons, while independently confirming Met Mast accuracy

Site suitability and inflow angle measurement

Fulcrum3D Sodar directly measures inflow angles in both simple and complex terrain
In complex terrain, wind turbines can experience significant inflow angles which are not measured using traditional anemometry
This has a significant effect on turbine yield and turbine life

Reliability assessment

Directly measure wind regime across a turbine to understand long term reliability and causes of regular failures
Analyse the forces impacting the turbine by measuring wind inflow angles across the entire rotor swept area
Results can be used to adjust operating modes under challenging wind conditions to reduce repair and maintenance costs

Power curve performance testing

Full testing as Fulcrum3D Sodar allows EVERY turbine to be tested ensuring that the entire wind farm meets performance requirements
This allows operators to secure compensation for under-performing turbines
Unlike Met Masts where the cost of installation means power curve performance testing is rarely carried out on all turbines

Fulcrum3D Sodar a unique design with superior functionality

Design

The Fulcrum3D Sodar is unique in its design.

By covering the entire turbine area, Fulcrum3D Sodar has a significant advantage over traditional wind monitoring equipment using masts.
A compact-beam Sodar which uses mechanically fixed beam angles to maximise accuracy and reliability of results. The beam geometry is optimised for use in both flat and complex terrain where traditional Sodars lose accuracy due to the variable wind vectors over the sensed air volume
The physically fixed beam angles eliminate errors introduced in electronically steered Sodars, where the steering frequency must be adjusted to take into account local temperature effects. In addition to eliminating temperature related errors, this minimises side lobes and therefore allows for a more compact system
The Fulcrum3D Sodar design allows multi-beam sampling where all three beams can be sampled simultaneously. This effectively triples the sampling rate and can significantly improve data accuracy and availability
The Fulcrum3D Sodar is software defined and fully flexible – all the data analysis intelligence is held on the server-side rather than on-board the Fulcrum3D Sodar unit, so the operating algorithms and software upgrades can be remotely applied for optimum results
Auxiliary sensors can be added and operating frequency changed to allow multiple units to be co-located without interfering with the performance of others.

Functionality

A standard Sodar works by sending out a sound pulse (beep) and listening to the returned sound signal as it’s scattered back towards the Sodar by atmospheric turbulence. You can listen to the sound pulse here. The principle, is similar to Radar.

The three sound beams of the Fulcrum3D Sodar allow a three dimensional wind vector to be measured. After the pulse is transmitted, the Fulcrum3D Sodar begins recording the returned sound signal and various filtering techniques are used to eliminate false data, background noise, errors introduced from rainfall and other factors.

The Fulcrum3D Sodar measures wind speed, direction and inflow angle in 10m height intervals from 40m to 200m above ground level, which aligns with the height of modern wind turbines. For each height range, data quality and other measurement statistics are calculated every 10 minutes.

The wind speed, direction, inflow angle, and height range are then calculated based on:

The time delay from when the beep was transmitted to when it was received, which indicates the sampling height (based on the speed of sound);
The change in frequency between the transmitted and received sound on each sound beam, which is caused by the wind vector along each beam axis (due to the Doppler effect);
The known angles of the three sound beams, together with the wind vector along each beam, which is interpreted to produce a three dimensional wind vector.

This wind vector is then translated into wind speed, direction, and inflow angle in each height bin. More complex analysis allows the wind speed standard deviation and turbulence index to be calculated. The Fulcrum3D Sodar transmits a sound pulse approximately every 1.5 seconds, giving a large number of samples which are then analysed to generate 10 minute statistics.

The Fulcrum3D Sodar is a portable unit, mounted on a standard box trailer, and powered by its own low-maintenance solar battery system. It is supplied with on-board remote telemetry, for a set-and-forget solution which reliably provides accurate data to your desktop.

Fulcrum3D Sodar

Accurate wind data is essential in financing and operating wind farms.

Wind Speed Data (uncalibrated and unfiltered)

Wind Direction Data (uncalibrated and unfiltered)

F3D Locations