Fusion joining of thermoplastic composite wind turbine blades: Lap-shear bond characterization
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Wind turbine blades are typically manufactured from a small number of components which are bonded together with an adhesive. Over the life span of a wind turbine, the static and fatigue loads in varying environmental conditions can lead to cracking and/or debonding of the adhesive joints, ultimately leading to blade structural collapse. The objective of this work is to investigate fusion joining of wind turbine blades manufactured using thermoplastic resin. Thermoplastic resins for wind turbine blades can reduce cycle times and energy consumption during manufacturing and facilitate end-of-life recycling and on-site manufacturing. Additionally, fusion joining of these materials can replace adhesives, resulting in stronger and more robust blades. This work showed that, compared to typical adhesives used in wind turbine blades, fusion welding resulted in an increase in both the static and fatigue lap-shear strength as compared to bonded thermoplastic composite coupons. This initial coupon-scale research suggests that there is potential for developing fusion welding techniques for full-scale wind turbine blades.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1503808
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1636739
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5000-72251
- Journal Information:
- Renewable Energy, Vol. 140, Issue C; ISSN 0960-1481
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Thermoplastic Composites and Their Promising Applications in Joining and Repair Composites Structures: A Review
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journal | December 2020 |
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