TY - GEN
T1 - EFFECT OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND INTERFACIAL CHARACTERISTICS ON THE DURABILITY OF LEADING-EDGE PROTECTION (LEP) MATERIALS FOR WIND TURBINE BLADES
AU - Katsivalis, Ioannis
AU - Chanteli, Angeliki
AU - Finnegan, William
AU - Young, Trevor
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©2022 Katsivalis et al.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Modern wind turbine blades experience tip speeds which can exceed 110 m/s. At such speeds, rain erosion of the Leading-Edge (LE) can have a significant impact on the performance of the blades, leading to reduced efficiency and increased need for repairs. To optimize the performance of the blades and reduce the effects of rain erosion, polymeric coatings, also known as Leading-Edge Protection (LEP) materials, are employed by the wind energy sector. In this work, the viscoelastic properties of two LEP materials are characterized using DMTA testing, while Rain Erosion Testing (RET) is also performed utilizing a whirling arm testing rig. The damage and failure of the LEP materials are characterized by analyzing the mass loss/exposure time relationships, photographic evidence, and CT-scanning. It is shown that porosity in the critical GFRP/LEP interface leads to stress concentrations and triggers an interfacial failure mode.
AB - Modern wind turbine blades experience tip speeds which can exceed 110 m/s. At such speeds, rain erosion of the Leading-Edge (LE) can have a significant impact on the performance of the blades, leading to reduced efficiency and increased need for repairs. To optimize the performance of the blades and reduce the effects of rain erosion, polymeric coatings, also known as Leading-Edge Protection (LEP) materials, are employed by the wind energy sector. In this work, the viscoelastic properties of two LEP materials are characterized using DMTA testing, while Rain Erosion Testing (RET) is also performed utilizing a whirling arm testing rig. The damage and failure of the LEP materials are characterized by analyzing the mass loss/exposure time relationships, photographic evidence, and CT-scanning. It is shown that porosity in the critical GFRP/LEP interface leads to stress concentrations and triggers an interfacial failure mode.
KW - CT scanning
KW - Leading-Edge Protection materials
KW - Rain Erosion Testing
KW - Viscoelastic properties
KW - Wind energy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149329091&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85149329091
T3 - ECCM 2022 - Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites Meet Sustainability
SP - 105
EP - 112
BT - Applications and Structures
A2 - Vassilopoulos, Anastasios P.
A2 - Michaud, Veronique
PB - Composite Construction Laboratory (CCLab), Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
T2 - 20th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites Meet Sustainability, ECCM 2022
Y2 - 26 June 2022 through 30 June 2022
ER -
