TECNALIA and VIRLAB join forces to launch seismic and electrical testing for power and high-voltage equipment
The applied research and technological development technology centre TECNALIA and the VIRLAB laboratory, a benchmark in vibration and shock testing, will combine their capabilities to provide technological solutions in strategic sectors, such as nuclear, railway and wind energy.
To this end, they will offer a comprehensive proposal that includes electrical and seismic tests to promote and certify the reliability and safety of equipment and structures in extreme conditions, thus preventing failures and improving the durability and performance of products.
The applied research and technological development technology centre TECNALIA and the VIRLAB laboratory, a benchmark in vibration and shock testing, have joined forces to offer the first combined seismic and electrical tests for industry. Thus, they will combine their experience and the resources of their laboratories to offer an integrated service for power, medium and high voltage equipment, and provide technological solutions in sectors such as nuclear, railway and wind power. These are precisely the sectors where the requirements for electrical testing combined with seismic, vibration or shock tests are more restrictive and where there is greater investment in resilient infrastructures.
Electrical testing verifies that equipment is designed correctly to withstand service conditions, including short circuits, lightning, voltage and current surges and other events that could cause damage or interruptions to equipment and, therefore, to the power supply. Vibration tests ensure that the equipment can withstand the vibration stresses arising from its transport or operation without affecting its reliability. In extreme cases, they should demonstrate the ability of equipment to perform its safety function in the event of an earthquake. These new combined tests make it possible to promote and certify the reliability and safety of equipment and structures in extreme conditions, and thus prevent failures, improving the durability and performance of products.
Technological and industrial collaboration
VIRLAB, which belongs to the URBAR industrial group of Gipuzkoa, is a benchmark laboratory in Europe in dynamic vibration and shock tests. Created in 1976, it carries out accredited tests for equipment that may be subjected to earthquakes or other types of vibrations and shocks, for sectors such as the nuclear, railway, wind or automotive industries. At its facilities in Asteasu (Gipuzkoa), more than 3,500 vibration and shock tests have been carried out since the start of its activity.
For its part, TECNALIA has the Electrical Equipment Laboratory for Smart Grids, known as InGRID, a unique facility in Europe with Power, High Voltage and Medium Voltage Laboratories. These facilities respond to the current and future needs of electrical distribution and transmission grids, and in particular to the development of Smart Grids, making TECNALIA an international benchmark in the development and certification of electrical equipment, with more than 35 years of experience.
For Aitor Kortajarena, Director of Electrical Labs at TECNALIA, ‘this agreement reinforces our commitment to safety and quality in the electricity industry and in critical sectors such as nuclear, offering manufacturers a complete and reliable solution. It is a comprehensive value proposition that provides companies with a complete service of specialised and high quality testing through a single entry point, resulting in more efficient management for the customer’.
For his part, Francisco Martín Morales de Castilla, CEO of URBAR, stressed that ‘the market is increasingly demanding seismic and electrical tests to ensure the safety and reliability of medium and high voltage electrical equipment, and this agreement with TECNALIA positions us at the forefront to meet this growing need, given the complementary nature of the tests we can perform in our respective laboratories’.
