Wind Blade Material Optimization

Abstract

In recent years the wind turbine blade has been the subject of comprehensive study and research amongst all other components of the wind turbine. As our appetite for renewable energy from the wind turbine continues to increase, companies now focus on rotor blades which can go up to 80m in length. The blade material not only have to face large aerodynamic, inertial and fatigue loads but are now being designed to endure environmental effects such as Ultraviolet degradation of surface, accumulation of dust particles at sandy locations, ice accretion on blades in cold countries, insect collision on blades and moisture ingress. All this is considered to ensure that the blades complete its designated life span. Furthermore exponential increase in composite blade manufacturing is causing a substantial amount of unrecyclable material. All these issues raise challenges for wind blade material use, its capacity to solve above mentioned problems and also maintain its structural integrity. This paper takes on this challenge by optimizing from the properties, merits, demerits and cost of different possible competing materials. Then the material is checked for its structural integrity through Finite Element Analysis simulation using standards like IEC-61400-1.This paper also shows the future direction of research by elaborating the influence nanotechnology can have in the improvement of the wind blade.

Effects of gelcoat thickness on mechanical properties of woven glass/polyester laminated composite

“…The fracture of the gelcoat layer is more brittle and shows crack before the glass reinforced plastic as demonstrated in other study [24]. Besides, polycor is a polyester based gelcoat that becomes brittle when shock loading is applied as shown Ahmad and Izhar [25]. The average thickness of gel coat on a part may not prevent cracking.…”

Material Selection of Face Sheet of Sandwich Plate Used in Blade of Wind Turbine Using MCDM Method

“…The optimal selection is dependent on various factors such as size, capacity, power output, environmental conditions, and structure. Through literature review, GFRP, CFRP, mild steel, and aluminum alloys are identified as potential face sheet materials, while medium density balsa, PVC Foam CoreCellTM T-foam [16], and Tycor W0.1(Polyurethane Foam) are recommended as core materials. These materials are considered as alternative options, from which the best-suited materials can be selected for constructing sandwich plates in WTBs.…”

“…Although there are thousands of materials available, this discussion will focus on four materials for the face sheet: GFPR (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer), CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer), mild steel, and aluminum alloy. Additionally, three materials will be discussed for the core: medium density balsa, PVC Foam [16], and Polyurethane Foam, based on literature sources. 1) GFRP: GFRP, or Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer, is a popular material used in the manufacturing of wind turbine rotor blades.…”

Structural design and analysis of a small wind turbine blade using Simple Load Model, FAST-MLife codes, and ANSYS nCode DesignLife

“…This is mainly because of its good properties in terms of load-carrying ability and its resistance to environmental damage and degradation. Besides, it has lesser shrinkage compared to its other counterparts, thus maintaining good dimensional tolerance during curing (Ahmad and Izhar-ul-Haq, 2012). Tables 3 and 4 present the mechanical characteristics of the E-glass fiber and epoxy resin that were adopted in the study.…”