Technologies of Wind Turbine Blade Repair: Practical Comparison

Leon Mishnaevsky, Nicolai Frost-Jensen Johansen, Anthony Fraisse, Søren Fæster, Thomas Jensen and Brian Bendixen
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Leon Mishnaevsky: Department of Wind Energy, Risø Campus, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Nicolai Frost-Jensen Johansen: Department of Wind Energy, Risø Campus, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Anthony Fraisse: Department of Wind Energy, Risø Campus, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Søren Fæster: Department of Wind Energy, Risø Campus, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Thomas Jensen: Danish Blade Service Aps, Bavnevej 10 B, 6580 Vamdrup, Denmark
Brian Bendixen: Danish Blade Service Aps, Bavnevej 10 B, 6580 Vamdrup, Denmark

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: Maintenance and repair of wind turbines contribute to the higher costs of wind energy. In this paper, various technologies of structural repair of damaged and broken wind turbine blades are compared. The composite plates, mimicking damaged blade parts, were damaged and repaired, using various available curing and bonding technologies. Technologies of repair with hand layup lamination, vacuum repair with hand layup and infusion, ultraviolet repair and high temperature thermal curing were compared. The repaired samples were tested under tensile static and fatigue tests, and subject to microscopic X-ray investigations. It was observed that both the strength of the repaired structures and the porosity depend on the repair technology used. Vacuum-based technologies lead to relatively stiff and lower-strength repaired plates, while ultraviolet-curing technologies lead to average stiffness and high strength. High-temperature vacuum curing leads to the highest maximum stress. Hand layup (both vacuum and without vacuum) leads to high post-repair porosity in the adhesive and scarf, while vacuum infusion leads to low porosity. Fatigue lifetime generally follows the trend of porosity. There exist risks of micro-damaging the parent laminate and the formation of residual stresses in the repaired structure.

Keywords: wind energy; wind turbine blades; maintenance; repair (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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