A novel powder-epoxy towpregging line for wind and tidal turbine blades

Robert, Colin; Pecur, Toa; Maguire, James; Lafferty, Austin D.; McCarthy, Edward D.; Brádaigh, Conchúr M. Ó

doi:10.1016/j.compositesb.2020.108443

Cited by 32 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(102 reference statements)

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“…Most of the work related to powder epoxy composites has focused on manufacturing properties and there are fewer data on their mechanical properties. A study on the development of an automated towpregging line using carbon and basalt fibre reinforced powder epoxy showed that the 0° tensile properties of the carbon samples were similar to those published by the fibre manufacturers for standard epoxies [ 20 ]. The study also included tension, compression and flexural tests performed at 0° and 90° for the basalt fibre powder epoxy composites which showed that, despite a slightly lower 0° compression strength, the rest of the measured properties were comparable to those of standard epoxies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Mixed-Mode Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Glass and Carbon Fibre Powder Epoxy Composites—For Design of Wind and Tidal Turbine Blades

et al. 2021

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Powder epoxy composites have several advantages for the processing of large composite structures, including low exotherm, viscosity and material cost, as well as the ability to carry out separate melting and curing operations. This work studies the mode I and mixed-mode toughness, as well as the in-plane mechanical properties of unidirectional stitched glass and carbon fibre reinforced powder epoxy composites. The interlaminar fracture toughness is studied in pure mode I by performing Double Cantilever Beam tests and at 25% mode II, 50% mode II and 75% mode II by performing Mixed Mode Bending testing according to the ASTM D5528-13 test standard. The tensile and compressive properties are comparable to that of standard epoxy composites but both the mode I and mixed-mode toughness are shown to be significantly higher than that of other epoxy composites, even when comparing to toughened epoxies. The mixed-mode critical strain energy release rate as a function of the delamination mode ratio is also provided. This paper highlights the potential for powder epoxy composites in the manufacturing of structures where there is a risk of delamination.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Mixed-Mode Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Glass and Carbon Fibre Powder Epoxy Composites—For Design of Wind and Tidal Turbine Blades

et al. 2021

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“…Along with the interfaces of the glass fibers within the composite material, the matrix absorbed the saltwater. This absorption of saltwater enabled the debonding of the glass fibers in the composite matrix, as seen in Figure 16d [25]. As the impingement angle increases, there is a clear difference in the erosion behavior of the two types of GFRP.…”

Section: Standard Versus Gradient Plate Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…A powder-based epoxy (PE6405) from FreiLacke (Bräunlingen, Germany) and Swiss CMT AG (Siebnen, Switzerland) was used in this study as the un-toughened, baseline epoxy resin. Due to a heat-activated catalyst technology, the powder epoxy provides significant advantages compared to its liquid equivalents: low minimal viscosity, low exotherm [24], ability to pre-shape different parts and co-cure them in a one-shot process and stability at ambient temperature (no refrigeration requirement) [25]. These advantages result in lower manufacturing costs and quicker production of mechanically superior composite parts [25] compared to standard liquid epoxy-based composites.…”

Section: Epoxy Powdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Design and production of structures from pre-impregnated tapes (prepreg) of differing properties would permit this gradient, but these prepreg systems are aimed at aerospace production in autoclaves and would be much too expensive for marine renewable structures such as tidal turbine blades. Recent developments in the use of powder epoxy systems for the manufacture of large, thick-section GFRP composites [24][25][26][27] do allow the possible production of such a layered system of resin toughness through the thickness of the blade.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Erosion Mapping of Through-Thickness Toughened Powder Epoxy Gradient Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Plates for Tidal Turbine Blades

et al. 2021

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Erosion of tidal turbine blades in the marine environment is a major material challenge due to the high thrust and torsional loading at the rotating surfaces, which limits the ability to harness energy from tidal sources. Polymer–matrix composites can exhibit leading-blade edge erosion due to marine flows containing salt and solid particles of sand. Anti-erosion coatings can be used for more ductility at the blade surface, but the discontinuity between the coating and the stiffer composite can be a site of failure. Therefore, it is desirable to have a polymer matrix with a gradient of toughness, with a tougher, more ductile polymer matrix at the blade surface, transitioning gradually to the high stiffness matrix needed to provide high composite mechanical properties. In this study, multiple powder epoxy systems were investigated, and two were selected to manufacture unidirectional glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (UD-GFRP) plates with different epoxy ratios at the surface and interior plies, leading to a toughening gradient within the plate. The gradient plates were then mechanically compared to their standard counterparts. Solid particle erosion testing was carried out at various test conditions and parameters on UD-GFRP specimens in a slurry environment. The experiments performed were based on a model of the UK marine environment for a typical tidal energy farm with respect to the concentration of saltwater and the size of solid particle erodent. The morphologies of the surfaces were examined by SEM. Erosion maps were generated based on the result showing significant differences for materials of different stiffness in such conditions.

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“…The powder epoxy (PE6405) used in this study was developed by Swiss CMT AG (Siebnen, Switzerland) and produced by Freilacke (Bräunlingen-Döggingen, Germany). The powder system has multiple advantages, such as a low curing exotherm [14,15], which reduces the risk of thermal runaway during manufacturing of thick sections, and a low minimal viscosity [14,15] for optimal wetting and minimal porosity, leading to superior mechanical properties [16][17][18][19].…”

Section: Powder Epoxymentioning

confidence: 99%

Powder Epoxy for One-Shot Cure, Out-of-Autoclave Applications: Lap Shear Strength and Z-Pinning Study

et al. 2021

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Large composite structures manufactured out-of-autoclave require the assembly and bonding of multiple parts. A one-shot cure manufacturing method is demonstrated using powder epoxy. Lap shear plates were manufactured from powder epoxy and glass fiber-reinforced plastic with four different bonding cases were assessed: secondary bonding using standard adhesive film, secondary bonding using powder epoxy, co-curing, and co-curing plus a novel Z-pinning method. This work investigates the lap shear strength of the four cases in accordance with ISO 4587:2003. Damage mechanisms and fracture behavior were explored using digital image correlation (DIC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. VTFA400 adhesive had a load at break 24.8% lower than secondary bonding using powder epoxy. Co-curing increased the load at break by 7.8% compared to powder epoxy secondary bonding, with the co-cured and pinned joint resulting in a 45.4% increase. In the co-cured and co-cured plus pinned cases, DIC indicated premature failure due to resin spew. SEM indicated shear failure of resin areas and a large amount of fiber pullout in both these cases, with pinning delaying fracture phenomena resulting in increased lap joint strength. This highlights the potential of powder epoxy for the co-curing of large composite structures out-of-autoclave.

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A novel powder-epoxy towpregging line for wind and tidal turbine blades

Cited by 32 publications

References 53 publications

Mixed-Mode Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Glass and Carbon Fibre Powder Epoxy Composites—For Design of Wind and Tidal Turbine Blades

Mixed-Mode Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Glass and Carbon Fibre Powder Epoxy Composites—For Design of Wind and Tidal Turbine Blades

Erosion Mapping of Through-Thickness Toughened Powder Epoxy Gradient Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Plates for Tidal Turbine Blades

Powder Epoxy for One-Shot Cure, Out-of-Autoclave Applications: Lap Shear Strength and Z-Pinning Study

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