Structural qualification testing and operational loading on a fiberglass rotor blade for the Mod-0A wind turbine
The original blades used in the 200-kW Mod-0A wind turbine program began to show signs of structural problems after less than 1000 h of operation. These blades were made of aluminum with riveted construction typical of an airplane wing. In addition to having structural problems, these blades were very expensive and showed little potential for reduced cost in volume production. Therefore, a program was initiated to develop blades for Mod-0A service that were not only structurally adequate but that showed potential for low cost when produced in significant quantities (>100). As a part of this program a fiberglass blade was designed and two blades were fabricated using a tape winding process. During the design phase of this program, two areas of the blade were identified where structural testing in the laboratory would reduce the risk of problems in the field. The first area was the blade root retention where a transition between fiberglass and steel is made. Here the concern was debonding between steel and fiberglass under fatigue loading. The second area was the outboard portion of the main structural spar of the blade. Here the concern was buckling of the spar under the limit load condition. Therefore, these two areas were qualified by test. This report describes these tests and their results. In addition, a comparison is made of expected blade loading and loading measured in the field. Finally, the report documents results of measurements of natural frequency, damping ratio, and deflection under load made on the operational blades.
- Research Organization:
- NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AI01-76ET20320
- OSTI ID:
- 6314502
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/NASA/20320-44; NASA-TM-83309; ON: DE83011565
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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