Design and evaluation of low-cost laminated-wood-composite blades for intermediate-size wind turbines: blade design, fabrication concept, and cost analysis

Technical Report · Mon Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6357527· OSTI ID:6357527

Lieblein, S.; Gougeon, M.; Thomas, G.; Zuteck, M.

As part of a program to reduce wind turbine costs, an evaluation was conducted of a laminated wood composite blade for the Mod-OA 200-kW wind turbine. The effort included the design and fabrication concept for the blade, together with cost and load analyses. The blade structure is composed of laminated Douglas fir veneers for the primary spar and nose sections, and honeycomb cored plywood panels for the trailing edge sections. The attachment of the wood blade to the rotor hub was through load takeoff studs bonded into the blade root. Tests were conducted on specimens of the key structural components to verify the feasibility of the concept. Fabrication cost was estimated to be about 15,000 to 18,000 per blade in 1982 dollars for a production rate of 100 blades per year. The major conclusion of the investigation was that the proposed wood composite blade design and fabrication concept is suitable for Mod-OA size wind turbines (125-ft diameter rotor) at a cost that is very competitive with other methods of manufacture.

• Research Organization: Technical Report Services, Rocky River, OH (USA); Gougeon Brothers, Bay City, MI (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AI01-76ET20320
• OSTI ID: 6357527
• Report Number(s): DOE/NASA/0101-1; NASA-CR-165463; ON: DE83010077
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

17 WIND ENERGY
170602* -- Wind Energy Engineering-- Turbine Design & Operation
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360300 -- Composite Materials-- (-1987)
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
COST
DESIGN
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
FABRICATION
HONEYCOMB STRUCTURES
MACHINERY
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
TESTING
TURBINE BLADES
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY
WIND TURBINES
WOOD