Materials Selection Strategy and Surface Treatment of Polymer Composites for Wind Turbine Blades Fabrication

Abstract

In the present work the optimal materials selection for wind turbine blades using the Cambridge Engineering Selector (CES) program was carried out. Materials indices were derived, based on the mechanical, physical properties and environmental circumstances. Glass and carbon fibre reinforced plastics (epoxy matrix) showed high materials indices based on combined analysis of power and efficiency, fracture toughness, fatigue and thermal stability. Epoxy-glass fibre (EGF) and epoxy-carbon fibre (ECF) composites were manufactured and investigated. Surface of glass and carbon fibre was chemically modified using gamma-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (Silane A1100) coupling agent. The fibre content was varied between 12 to 70% w/w. It is found that the addition of (Silane A1100) as a compatibilizer caused further amelioration of the fibre/matrix bonding resulting in improved mechanical behaviour, which was also, assessed using scanning electron microscopy. Mechanical properties of treated and untreated epoxy composites were illustrated using CES program. Tensile strength of EGF composites was varied based on fibres surface treatment and loadings. Tensile strength of silane treated EGF (70% wt/wt) increased to 1.46 GPa comparing with 1.38 GPa of untreated EGF. The potential and applications of this class of composite materials promise a significant opportunity for improving structural properties of wind turbine blades.

Fabrication and Characterization of Microcellular Polyurethane Sisal Biocomposites

“…The temperature of polymerization showed a high significant effect at high temperature (>100 • C); the samples were stiffer, which could be attributed to the forming of allophanate and biuret groups. The isocyanate to castor oil ratio significantly affected the stiffness of the samples [16]. A defoaming agent was used to control the size of the formed bubbles, making them homogeneously distributed.…”

“…Polyurethane is one of the polymers that play an important role in our life [11][12][13]. It plays a part in many industries; from footwear to ship-building, and it can be found in a constantly increasing variety of forms [14][15][16][17]. Automotive companies have focused recently on several polymer biocomposite materials in order to obtain materials with vibration damping and sound absorption properties in addition to light weight for reduced fuel consumption [18].…”

Assessment of Blend PVDF Membranes, and the Effect of Polymer Concentration and Blend Composition

“…In recent years, a great deal of work has been dedicated to enhancing the strategy of materials selection to improve its performance [ 18 ].…”

“…In recent years, a great deal of work has been dedicated to enhancing the performance of PVDF membranes for MD by optimizing the morphological structure, increasing the hydrophobicity, improving the surface against fouling tendency, improving the mechanical strength, and enhancing the chemical resistance [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. In this regard, the role of PVDF dope solution composition [ 21 ], solvents [ 22 ], and fabrication process parameters [ 23 , 24 ] has been considered.…”

Suitability of utilizing small horizontal axis wind turbines for off grid loads in eastern region of Saudi Arabia

“…According to Albani et al (2014), all energy forms or sources have an adverse environmental impact but the wind energy does not, compared to conventional energy sources. Wind energy is one of the cleanest, benign, and environment friendly source of energy and is not going to diminish like fossil fuels having fixed and limited reserves (Al-Qabandi et al, 2014;Bassyouni and Gutub, 2013;Ozgur and Kose, 2006). Lara et al (2011) evaluated a 3 kW wind turbine for charging a battery bank of 48 V/ 880 A h by means of a six-pulse rectifier.…”