Liège, Belgium, February 2011. ALSTOM chooses SAMCEF for Wind Turbines (S4WT), SAMTECH's professional product for advanced dynamic analysis and certification of Wind Turbines.

The purchase of S4WT is the natural result of the confidence of Alstom in SAMTECH's software solutions and the final choice for S4WT was further consolidated through the outcome of validation campaigns that proved the accuracy of S4WT when comparing numerical results with experimental measurements. In fact, Alstom evaluated in depth several well-known software systems for aero-elastic load computations and Multi-Body-System analysis. The possibility to include the most complex mechanical models in one detailed aero-elastic wind turbine model, accurate results and a reduced learning time were the features which convinced ALSTOM to select S4WT.

The S4WT solver SAMCEF Mecano was used for the first time in a wind turbine context in Alstom’s Wind business 10 years ago. As early as in the year 2000, the first non-linear dynamic SAMCEF Mecano model of a 600 kW wind turbine power train was set up. Successful experimental validation was performed on that model and triggered a long-term relationship between the two companies in the domain of advanced dynamic simulation of wind turbines. Further collaboration, including intensive validation campaigns, resulted in the set up of advanced aero-elastic S4WT models of several Alstom Multi-Mega Watt class wind turbines. Several key features for accurate modeling of wind turbines have been added to the software over time to match the needs of today’s wind industry and make S4WT the most complete platform on the wind turbine simulation market.

The collaboration between Alstom and SAMTECH will continue in several industrial domains including the simulation of offshore wind turbines and the evaluation of innovative Mechatronical Systems for active damping.

About SAMCEF for Wind Turbines
20 years experience in the modeling of large flexible machines and more than 10 years expertise in Wind Energy have been concretized into S4WT, SAMTECH’s platform dedicated to Wind Turbine simulation. This expertise was built through partnerships with most of the major players in the Wind industry, including Alstom.

S4WT can be used at different levels in the wind turbine engineering process, which cover the computation of global design loads for certification, the evaluation of dynamics of complex flexible mechanisms using the Multi-Body Simulation capabilities of S4WT and finally the stress assessment of structural component design using the Finite Elements features of S4WT. The S4WT software package is delivered with pre-defined IEC-61400 design load cases and parameterized start up models which include as well the most common gearbox based power train concepts, as well as advanced direct drive wind turbine models.

About Alstom
Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids. The Group employs 95,000 people in more than 70 countries, and had sales of over €23 billion* in 2009/10.

*Pro forma figures

About Alstom’s Wind business
Alstom offers integral wind farm solutions, covering site development activities, system or key component design and manufacturing, assembly, installation, and O&M services for a wide range of onshore wind turbines spanning 1.67 MW to 3 MW. Through Alstom’s two wind turbines platforms ECO 80 and ECO 100, the company proposes the appropriate choice of wind turbine to match different wind farm locations and wind speeds. All Alstom’s wind products feature the company’s unique ALSTOM PURE TORQUE™ concept, a unique mechanical design concept that protects drive train components – in onshore turbines especially the gearbox – from deflection loads. To date the company has installed or is installing more than 2,081 wind turbines in more than 110 wind farms, corresponding to a total capacity of more than 2684 MW. Alstom’s wind business is present in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal! , UK, Japan, India, and has established local teams in China, Brazil and the United States. Furthermore, the industrial footprint, originally mainly based in Spain, is under international development with the opening of two new units, one in Brazil (State of Bahia) and one in the United States (Amarillo, Texas) that will be fully operational by 2011.

About SAMTECH
SAMTECH is a European leading provider of Computer Aided Engineering software. Founded in 1986, SAMTECH develops and markets the general-purpose Finite Element Analysis code SAMCEF, the Multi-Disciplinary Optimization platform BOSS quattro and the Open CAE Integration Framework CAESAM. These core engineering software tools answer to a wide range of industrial needs from the preliminary phases of design to the most advanced verification analyses. The software technology of SAMTECH has an unsurpassed reputation for its quality and reliability. It has been adopted by many major companies across all engineering disciplines as an integral part of their design process. SAMTECH Group has direct offices in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, China, Japan and US for technical support, sales and services, plus a network of technically advanced distributors in other markets. SAMTECH software tools are interoper! able with major CAD systems available on the market. SAMTECH is certified to ISO9001: 2000 quality standards.

Visit http://www.samtech.com for details on SAMTECH Products/Services.

For further information about SAMTECH and Alstom’s Wind business please contact:

Serge Van Den Heuvel, Chief Sales Officer
SAMTECH Headquarters
LIEGE Science Park
Rue des Chasseurs-Ardennais 8
4031 Angleur - BELGIUM
Tel: + 32-4-361.69.69
Fax: + 32-4-361.69.80
Email: marketing@samtech.com
Web: http://www.samtech.com

Nathan McConnell, Media Relations
ALSTOM
Alstom (Switzerland) Ltd
Brown Boveri Strasse 7
5401 Baden
Switzerland
Tel: +41 56 205 40 32
Email: nathan.mcconnell@power.alstom.com
Web: http://www.alstom.com