Rotor Blades: The Use of Composites in Rotor Blade Design

The use of Composites in Rotor Blade Design
The wind power industry in Europe is expected to grow significantly in the coming years to coincide with EU targets for the reduction of carbon emissions by 2020 and beyond. The development of technology towards deep water installations of wind farms is the vital step towards achieving the target of 20% of Europes energy demands by 2020. Harnessing stronger and more consistent winds in deeper water with larger turbines rated at 8-10MW and higher, is key to providing cost-efficient electricity. To realise the production of energy at prices competitive with energy from fossil fuels, turbines will need to be cheaper to manufacture, to install, and to maintain. Turbine blades conventionally have been constructed with glass-fibre or carbon-fibre composite materials, and are designed to have a lifetime of twenty years or more. One of the important aspects of turbines installed on deep water farms is the cost of servicing and maintenance. Due to their location and the difficulty and costs of working at sea, it is essential that the larger turbines designed for offshore farms are highly reliable to reduce downtime for servicing and repairs. The industry as a whole and blade manufacturers in particular, are looking for composite materials with a variety of characteristics to suit this purpose. The materials must be strong enough to cope with the excess load caused by high winds on much longer blades. The reduction of the weight of the blades is also important, as the extra weight and fierce weather conditions could cause failures in other components of the turbine, thus creating extra downtime. Cost-efficiency is another driving factor; manufacturing and production costs should not adversely affect the ultimate target of producing cheaper electricity en mass. Research In 2010, The Danish Council for Strategic Researchs Programme Commission on Energy and Environment awarded funding of DKK 38 million for the establishment of The Danish Centre for Composite Structures and Materials for Wind Turbines
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(DCCSM) (1). The research centre involves several industry partners including Ris DTU (National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy), The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Aalborg University, Siemens Wind Power, LM Glasfibre, Fiberline Composites, and Bach Composite Industry. The project is intended to carry out extensive research into the development of experimental methods of producing and monitoring blades at various lengths. It is hoped the research will give a greater insight into the characteristics required of composite materials in terms of controlling damage evolution and crack growth. It is also aiming to develop new methods of analysing and predicting the extent of damage and crack growth. Wind turbine blades for offshore installation are expected to be 60 metres or more, and it is vital that the turbines are able to withstand small amounts of damage without coming to a complete standstill and causing downtime. It is also anticipated that the turbines of the future will incorporate a range of sensors to detect and assess damage as and when it occurs. This research will be invaluable for blade manufacturers as it will enable designers to develop larger, lighter blades, while the integration of sensors will facilitate damage detection and analysis so that decisions can be made quickly and efficiently as to what type of action is required. Manufacturing Most turbine blades are manufactured from some type of glass-fibre material, and the development of these composites as well as research into the implementation of carbon-fibre composites is on-going throughout the industry. The aim of developing these composites is to create blades with high tensile strength to cope with the conditions offshore, while retaining a light-weight and cost-efficient design. One manufacturer embracing both technologies in the design of its blades is Gamesa, who have introduced carbon-fibre composites into the construction of their latest blades, including the G10X-4.5 MW sectional blade (2).
Source: Gamesa
Manufacturing of the internal beam of the blade uses both glass-fibre and carbonfibre materials which have been impregnated with epoxy resin as a base. Several pieces of cloth are cut and placed into the mould before undergoing a curing process (shown above). The shell of the blade is constructed via the same method, with glass-fibre placed into a mould after a protective coating of paint. Once both shells have been produced, the beam is bonded between the two, and the blade is passed though a kiln to form a compact unit. Finally the blade assembly is completed by the finishing of the leading and trailing edges to meet specification. The challenge for designers and engineers is one of cost versus benefit of using carbon-fibre for blade manufacture. While it has the potential to be stronger and lighter than glass-fibre materials, the technology and manufacturing processes are not in place yet to deliver cost-efficiency and reliability in mass production for the entire blade structure. Many manufacturers are using carbon-fibre composites for component parts of the blade to increase strength in specific areas, but it remains to be seen what the ideal composite material will be for large turbine blade construction. Composites for the Wind Energy Industry 3B Fibreglass Company is one of Europes leaders in the development and supply of fibreglass products for the wind industry, and produces several composite materials which can be used for blade manufacture (3). One of their products which may be particularly well suited to the manufacture of longer blades for offshore applications
is Advantex. It is a boron-free E-CR glass with corrosion resistance properties which could be ideal for the aggressive weather conditions experienced in deep water installations. It offers several benefits over traditional E-glass, including a 9% higher tensile strength, optimised sizing for improved processing and enhanced fatigue performance, and a cleaner environmental footprint. The removal of boron from the glass composite stops the creation of dust particles, which are associated with partial volatilisation when exposed to high temperatures. The removal of added fluorides also helps to reduce the creation of dust particles. The use of modern melting technologies results in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and increased energy efficiency also aids the reduction of carbon emissions. Further developments by 3B have seen them introduce another composite, HiPertexTM, resulting from manufacturing developments in their own technology. The fibre is based on a new patented glass formulation, which 3B say respects the environment with optimised melting and sizing technologies. Key to the wind energy industry is that this material may facilitate the production of longer blades with up to 30% higher tensile strength than E-glass, up to 17% higher tensile modulus, and up to 40% increased fatigue strength, and crucially up to 8-10% weight savings. The potential for this new type of composite is that engineers may be able to design longer blades without any increase in weight, which are able to cope with higher loads from wind speed. The increased fatigue strength may also prolong a blades lifetime and reduce the frequency of service and maintenance visits; something which is essential to the development of deep water offshore wind farms. The material also retains the anti-corrosive properties which will be required for offshore installations.
Summary With EC regulations dictating that renewable energy should supply 20% of Europes electricity by 2020, the wind power industry is undergoing continual development at a rapid pace. The most viable way of achieving the target is for the wind industry to develop deep water offshore wind farms with future turbines to be rated at 10MW or more. There is substantial investment in all aspects of wind farm design, from foundations to turbine development to grid integration; and there is a need for innovation in all areas to design turbines which can be mass produced costeffectively. Blades can account for 20-25% of the overall cost of a turbine, and are therefore a significant component in terms of cost reduction. Despite the requirements to reduce overall cost, blades will need to be produced which are in excess of 60 metres to be able to supply enough power to meet demand. The contradiction of increasing size while reducing cost is a complex design issue for blade and turbine manufacturers, and one which must be assessed at component level. Manufacturing processes are being continually developed to streamline the production of such blades, and material selection is a key issue for manufacturers as they look to improve strength and durability, while lowering the cost of production. The use of composites in the construction of turbine blades is commonplace already, but the development of newer glass-fibre and carbon-fibre materials offers the potential to improve upon existing designs as manufacturers look towards larger and larger turbines. Some manufacturers are already integrating carbon-fibre composites into the construction of their blades, while others are further improving the characteristics of glass-fibre materials. At this stage there is no ideal composite material for the construction of turbine blades, and it is likely that several years of research and development will be required, along with experience of turbines under real installation conditions, before the best possible types of materials become universally accepted.
Colin Pawsey
References: (1) http://www.risoe.dtu.dk/Research/sustainable_energy/wind_energy/projects/ AFM_DCCSM.aspx (2) http://www.gamesacorp.com/en/manufacturing-and-assembly-process.html (3) http://www.3b-fibreglass.com/wpcontent/themes/3b/pdf/brochures/Brochure-Wind_UK.pdf
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References: (1) http://www.risoe.dtu.dk/Research/sustainable_energy/wind_energy/projects/ AFM_DCCSM.aspx (2) http://www.gamesacorp.com/en/manufacturing-and-assembly-process.html (3) http://www.3b-fibreglass.com/wpcontent/themes/3b/pdf/brochures/Brochure-Wind_UK.pdf

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