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Title: Low Speed Technology for Small Turbine Development Reaction Injection Molded 7.5 Meter Wind Turbine Blade

Abstract

An optimized small turbine blade (7.5m radius) was designed and a partial section molded with the RIM (reaction-injection molded polymer) process for mass production. The intended market is for generic three-bladed wind turbines, 100 kilowatts or less, for grid-assist end users with rural and semi-rural sites, such as the farm/ranch market, having low to moderate IEC Class 3-4 wind regimes. This blade will have substantial performance improvements over, and be cheaper than, present-day 7.5m blades. This is made possible by the injection-molding process, which yields high repeatability, accurate geometry and weights, and low cost in production quantities. No wind turbine blade in the 7.5m or greater size has used this process. The blade design chosen uses a RIM skin bonded to a braided infused carbon fiber/epoxy spar. This approach is attractive to present users of wind turbine blades in the 5-10m sizes. These include rebladeing California wind farms, refurbishing used turbines for the Midwest farm market, and other manufacturers introducing new turbines in this size range.

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Composite Engineering, Inc.
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
OSTI Identifier:
921599
Report Number(s):
GO14256Final
TRN: US200806%%112
DOE Contract Number:  
FG36-04GO14256
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
17 WIND ENERGY; CARBON; DESIGN; GEOMETRY; MANUFACTURERS; MARKET; PERFORMANCE; PRODUCTION; TURBINE BLADES; TURBINES; VELOCITY; WIND TURBINE ARRAYS; WIND TURBINES; turbine blade; RIM; Injection Molding; 100kW or less; IEC Class 3-4; Farm Market; Ranch Market; Grid Connected; Carbor Epoxie Spar; low cost; refurbished wind turbine; accurate geometry; uniform weight; Midwest Market

Citation Formats

Wright, David M, and DOE Project Officer - Keith Bennett. Low Speed Technology for Small Turbine Development Reaction Injection Molded 7.5 Meter Wind Turbine Blade. United States: N. p., 2007. Web. doi:10.2172/921599.
Wright, David M, & DOE Project Officer - Keith Bennett. Low Speed Technology for Small Turbine Development Reaction Injection Molded 7.5 Meter Wind Turbine Blade. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/921599
Wright, David M, and DOE Project Officer - Keith Bennett. 2007. "Low Speed Technology for Small Turbine Development Reaction Injection Molded 7.5 Meter Wind Turbine Blade". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/921599. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/921599.
@article{osti_921599,
title = {Low Speed Technology for Small Turbine Development Reaction Injection Molded 7.5 Meter Wind Turbine Blade},
author = {Wright, David M and DOE Project Officer - Keith Bennett},
abstractNote = {An optimized small turbine blade (7.5m radius) was designed and a partial section molded with the RIM (reaction-injection molded polymer) process for mass production. The intended market is for generic three-bladed wind turbines, 100 kilowatts or less, for grid-assist end users with rural and semi-rural sites, such as the farm/ranch market, having low to moderate IEC Class 3-4 wind regimes. This blade will have substantial performance improvements over, and be cheaper than, present-day 7.5m blades. This is made possible by the injection-molding process, which yields high repeatability, accurate geometry and weights, and low cost in production quantities. No wind turbine blade in the 7.5m or greater size has used this process. The blade design chosen uses a RIM skin bonded to a braided infused carbon fiber/epoxy spar. This approach is attractive to present users of wind turbine blades in the 5-10m sizes. These include rebladeing California wind farms, refurbishing used turbines for the Midwest farm market, and other manufacturers introducing new turbines in this size range.},
doi = {10.2172/921599},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/921599}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jul 31 00:00:00 EDT 2007},
month = {Tue Jul 31 00:00:00 EDT 2007}
}