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Structural performance testing of a composite demonstrator made with recyclable composite materials

Jiang, Yadong
; 
Finnegan, William
; 
Kelly, Conor
; 
Kennedy, Ciaran
; 
Ahmad, Ayaz
; 
Flanagan, Tomas
; 
Goggins, Jamie
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Identifiers
https://hdl.handle.net/10379/18694
 https://doi.org/10.13025/29488
Publication Date
2024-08-29
Keywords
Composite Materials, Experimental Testing, Renewable Energy, Structural Performance, Wind Energy, Wind Turbine
Type
conference paper
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Citation
Jiang, Yadong, Finnegan, William, Kelly, Conor, Kennedy, Ciaran, Ahmad, Ayaz, Flanagan, Tomas, & Goggins, Jamie. (2024). Structural performance testing of a composite demonstrator made with recyclable composite materials. Paper presented at the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland (CERI 2024), Galway, 29-30 August.
Abstract
Currently, wind energy is the largest contributor to Ireland's renewable electricity supply. In Ireland, there were approximately 275 MW of new wind farms connected in 2023. The typical design life span of a wind turbine is 25 years. Most parts of a wind turbine can be reused or recycled, such as steel towers, copper cables, and electrical equipment. However, the blades currently can't be easily recycled, which can cause a high volume of composite waste. By 2030, composite waste from the wind industry is expected to exceed 130,000 tonnes/year. Therefore, it is vital to develop novel wind turbine blades that contribute to the material circularity. In this research, the structural performance of a composite demonstrator, which represents the main structure of a wind turbine blade, is studied. This 5-m long demonstrator was manufactured using glass fibre and EliumĀ® resin, a recyclable material. To ensure the manufactured demonstrator can withstand the design forces, it underwent a series of static loadings, which are introduced by a hydraulic actuator, in the large structures laboratory at the University of Galway. The T-boltconnectors of the demonstrator failed under a load of 36.1 kN. Based on the observations and strain gauge recordings, there is no damage occurred in the thermoplastic composite components. These preliminary test results show that it is positive to use thermoplastic materials in wind turbine blade manufacturing.
Funder
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
Science Foundation Ireland
MaREI Research Centre for Energy, Climate, and Marine
Marine Institute
Publisher
Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland
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Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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Collections
Civil Engineering (Conference Papers)