Department of Energy (DOE) reports produced after 1991 and a growing number of pre-1991 documents are available free via www.OSTI.gov.

Research advanced erosion-resistant composite materials for use on the leading edge of wind turbine blades Research, development, and scale-up of thermoplastic resin systems to reduce wind turbine blade manufacturing cycle times, reduce blade costs, enable thermal welding of bond lines, increase recyclability, and enable advanced in-field blade repair techniques Research advanced thermoset materials that can be recovered and reused Research metals and other noncomposite materials for development of lightweight, high-strength, and high-stiffness turbine components Grand Challenge 2: Automation Develop comprehensive techno-economic models for automation and a virtual factory (or digital twin of a factory) to understand advantages and disadvantages of targeted automation for both wind turbine blade molding and finishing operations Identify and quantify all cost inputs for wind turbine component manufacturing (e.g., blades, towers) to identify production steps that would benefit from automation Develop automated production methods for the continuous manufacturing of one-piece wind turbine towers for on-site manufacturing Develop advanced design tools to optimize blade and tower design with respect to manufacturing with automation Research and develop automation technology able to locate complex wind turbine blade geometry in space to allow for effective automated finishing operations, such as sanding, drilling, and cutting Develop methods to automate the delivery, placement, and inspection of core material into blade skin molds during the composite laminate skin lay-up Integrate real-time inspection and quality control into automated production steps for wind turbine blades, towers, and other components Develop large-scale, low-cost, high-throughput, high-performance automated additive manufacturing technologies (e.g., 3D printing, automated fiber placement and tape layup, filament winding) for the production of towers, blade skins, blade spars, and other turbine components Develop embedded metrology and out-of-mold indexing technologies Grand Challenge 3: On-Site Manufacturing Develop robust composite materials for use in broad on-site environmental conditions Research the chemistry and processing of in-situ thermoplastic resin systems to enable thermally welded joints in an on-site manufacturing environment Develop targeted wind turbine blade finishing automation techniques designed to reduce the overall footprint of on-site finishing operations and minimize production facility floor space Research additive manufacturing to print wind turbine blade molds and tooling at on-site manufacturing locations IEA Wind TCP Task 11

No abstract

Wind turbine blade logistic providers are being challenged with escalating costs and routing complexities as one-piece blade approach lengths of 75 m in various regions of the U.S. land-based market. New lower cost solutions are needed to enable further reductions in the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and continued market expansion. In this paper, a novel method of using existing U.S. rail infrastructure to deploy 100-m, one-piece blades to U.S. land-based wind sites is numerically investigated. The study removes the constraint that blades must be kept rigid during transport, and it allows bending to keep blades within a clearance profile while navigating horizontal and vertical curvatures. Novel system optimization and blade design processes consider blade structural constraints and rail logistic constraints in parallel to develop a highly flexible, rail-transportable blade. Results indicate maximum deployment potential in the Interior region of the United States and limited deployment potential in other regions. The study concludes that innovative rail transportation solutions combined with advanced rotor technologies can provide a feasible alternative to segmentation and support continued LCOE reductions in the U.S. land-based wind energy market.

No abstract