Manufacturing Technologies for Turbine Power Blades - Hybrid Anisotropic Materials for Wind Power Turbine Blades - page 98

aerospace. applications,. examining. particularly. how. the. Quickstep. curing.
technique. produces. composites. with. apparent. improvements. in. thermal,.
adhesion.performance,.and.other.properties.thought.to.result.from.a.better.
cure.at.the.micro.and.molecular.levels..Elsewhere,.the.National.Composites.
Center. in. collaboration. with. the. University. of. Dayton. Research. Institute,.
Ashland.Performance.Materials,.Owens.Corning,.Ohio.State.University,.and.
WebCore.Technologies.Inc..will.study.the.Quickstep.process.using.materials.
enhanced.with.nanoparticles.with.the.expectation.of.improving.the.perfor-
mance.of.components.produced.for.the.aerospace.and.automotive.industries.

4.7 DevelopingTechnologyforRobust

AutomationWindingProcess
4.7.1 Introduction

A. robust. winding. process. includes. ilament. iber. or. tape. preliminary.
impregnated. by. resins.. Ingersoll's. automated. iber. placement. machine 22 .
fabricates. complex,.contoured.shapes.over.large.curvilinear.surfaces.using.
epoxy-impregnated. composite. iber. material.. The. lexibility. of. Ingersoll's.
iber. placement. process. provides. the. accuracy. and. performance. necessary.
for.advanced.aerospace.application.including.fuselage.panels,.engine.cowl-
ings,.payload.fairings,.payload.adapters,.inlet.shrouds,.and.landing.gear.pod.
fairings.. Three-dimensional. parts. are. fabricated. on. form. tools. supported.
between.centers.. Irregular. cross.sections. with. an.ininitive. variety. of. iber.
angles. are. created. by. adding. or. dropping. individual. ibers. to. vary. band.
width.and.achieve.localized.iber.angles.

4.7.1.1 Fiber Placement Process

Automated. Dynamics. (Schenectady,. New. York). manufactures. advanced.
composite. structures. and. high. performance. composite. processing. equip-
ment.. Through. the. development. of. innovative. processes—automated. iber.
placement.and.automated.tape.laying—the.company.delivers.strong,.light-
weight.structures.that.solve.complex.problems.for.clients.in.the.aerospace,.
automotive,.defense,.oil.ield,.and.other.commercial/industrial.markets.
Filament-wound. carbon. iber/iberglass. power. turbine. blades. are. pro-
vided. a. very. high. strength-to-weight. ratio. and. excellent. high. resistance. to.
corrosion.and.erosion.(Figure 4.4). 22
Variations. in. reinforcement. materials. and. resins. can. be. used. during. the.
winding. process,. materials,. such. as. E-glass,. C-glass,. Kevlar â ,. and. carbon.
iber.as.reinforcement..Resins,.such.as.epoxy.and.vinyl.esters.with.low.vis-
cosity,.demonstrate.a.high.life.capability.and.minimum.vocabulary.