Methodology for Fast Iterations of Blade Designs Using Thermoplastic Composite Materials: Preprint
Tidal energy is still in the early research and development phases, therefore the ability to quickly manufacture and evaluate prototype blades with new blade designs and materials is critical. This paper investigates using a Stratasys three-dimensional printer to rapidly prototype scale-model turbine blades by printing the blade tooling and using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) to manufacture blades. This work outlines a methodology for cost effectively designing and manufacturing model-scale tidal turbine blades to be used in testing campaigns, and for evaluating new thermoplastic composite materials for tidal energy applications. Demonstration blades were designed in ANSYS and manufactured using an infusible thermoplastic resin system called Elium(R). The development of scale-model thermoplastic blades enables research into their fatigue performance in realistic conditions at a cost-effective scale, and manufacturing using 3-D printed tooling enables fast and low-cost blade design iterations.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind and Water Technologies Office (EE-4W)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1572262
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5000-73295
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at the European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference, 1-6 September 2019, Napoli, Italy
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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