Impact of Process Technology on Properties of Large-Scale Wind Turbine Blade Composite Spar Cap

Yuanrong Sun, Congli Hu and Jianbo Li ()
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Yuanrong Sun: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 4800 Caoan Road, Shanghai 201804, China
Congli Hu: Aeolon Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 201306, China
Jianbo Li: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 4800 Caoan Road, Shanghai 201804, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: As wind turbine blade length increases, reconciling lightweight design with strength necessitates continuous advancements in process technology. The impact of three different process technologies–vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM), prepreg, and pultrusion–on the properties of wind turbine blade composite spar caps was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and static and fatigue testing. The results demonstrated that the fibre weight content and 0° tensile modulus of the VARTM and pultrusion composites increased as compared to those of the prepreg samples. Subsequently, the properties of a 94-m blade were analysed using the Ansys Composite PrepPost (ACP) and static structure modules in Ansys simulations, and the weights of the spar cap were compared with test data of materials under different process technologies. The results showed that the masses of the spar cap of a 94-m blade in the pultrusion, VARTM, and prepreg processes were 7965, 9170, and 9942 kg, respectively. The quantitative influence rules on the weight of the wind turbine blade spar cap prepared through different process technologies were formulated. The findings of this study are promising and are expected to aid the development of wind turbine blade process technologies.

Keywords: wind turbine blade; VARTM; prepreg; pultrusion; spar cap; blade design (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: 2024
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