Composites in Wind Turbine Energy

With composite structures and materials proving useful in various fields, it’s hardly a surprise that they play a vital part in the wind and energy industry as well. From manufacturing wind blades to solar panel frames, the energy sector has come to rely heavily on composite materials. In fact, the demand for composite materials in this sector is expected to increase substantially in the near future. What are composite materials? This revolutionary material effectively combines the properties of two or more materials or components. This combination is decided based on the application or use of the material. Composite materials are much stronger as well. They combine the strengths and properties of two or more materials while displaying macroscopic properties that are far superior to the parent materials. They are not always a by product of recycling waste material, but are custom built specifically for use in all leading technology and applications like engineering and avionics. Apart from being eco friendly, composite materials are also budget friendly, making them an ideal choice for large scale projects. How do composite materials help generate wind turbine energy? Both developing and developed nations worldwide are on the lookout for a means to end their dependency on fossil fuel. The answer to this lies in the increase in production of renewable energy, particularly in the generation of wind energy. To achieve this, building and installing wind energy parks, both on shore and off shore, has become crucial. These parks require large and extra large wind turbines to produce sufficient quantities of wind energy. Due to their expensive repair and maintenance, these wind turbines located on shore and off shore need to be efficiently and reliably constructed to last a period of 20 years or more. The durability of wind turbines chiefly depends on the strength, stiffness, fatigue damage, weight and loading resistance of the material used in their construction. As a result, advanced composite materials have to be designed and used in the construction of wind turbines to ensure their longevity. Construction of wind turbine rotor blades Composite materials are used in two key components of wind turbines – the blades and nacelles. Nacelles house all the generating components like the gear box, generator and brake assembly. They also offer weather protection to these vital components. Consequently, they need to be well-built and weatherproofed and are usually made of glass fibre composites. The blades are the largest and most important part of the wind turbine to rely on composite materials. It is, in fact, the most expensive part of the turbine itself. The blades are also subjected to external loading like edgewise and flapwise bending loads, inertia forces, gravitational loads and pitch acceleration loads. They are also prone to cyclic loading due to turbulence or wind variations. These are the main causes for damage in rotor blades. Therefore, to ensure that these blades retain their shape stability and damage resistance, they are manufactured from long fibre reinforced polymer laminates. This composite ensures longitudinal strength and stiffness and fracture toughness for the rotor blades. Apart from their existing uses, there are several more promising developments of stronger, reliable and economically feasible composites in the wind turbine energy sector.