Materials for Turbine Power Blades, Reinforcements, and Resins - Hybrid Anisotropic Materials for Wind Power Turbine Blades - page 74

withstand. the. stresses. and. strains. of. real. applications,. it's. necessary. to.
look.at.PSA.attributes. 28
A.prestacked,.16-ply.prepreg.face.sheet.was.laid.on.a.steel.tool.plate.cov-
ered.with.Kapton ® .ilm.and.then.sealed..Limitation.of.vacuum.pressure.and.
low.viscosity.requirements.include.also.fast.curing.and.strength. 29

3.7 MaterialPromisesaBetterBlade

ResistancetoWearandTear
3.7.1 Owens Corning's Ultrablade Fabric Solutions

Owens.Corning.(Toledo,.Ohio).has.introduced.Ultrablade™.fabric.solutions,.
which. will. help. enable. the. market. transition. to. longer,. lighter,. and. stiffer.
wind.turbine.rotor.blades..The.new.solutions,.which.were.made.available.in.
January.2011,.can.remove.nearly.a.metric.ton.of.reinforcement.and.resin.from.
2.0.megawatt.(MW).wind.turbines.compared.to.same-size.blade.sets.made.
with.traditional.E-glass.
Compared.to.standard.fabrics,.Ultrablade.fabrics.in.epoxy.resin.can:

•. Reduce. spar. weight. by. up. to. 18 percent. while. keeping. length.
constant.
•. Increase.blade.length.by.up.to.6 percent.
•. Improve.blade.stiffness.by.up.to.20 percent.
•. Decrease.blade.thickness.by.up.to.6 percent.to.increase.aerodynamic.
eficiency.and.generate.higher.torque.for.driving.turbines.
•. Reduce. total. blade. weight. by. up. to. 5. percent. to. ease. the. load. on.
the.turbine.and.tower,.and.enable.turbines.to.operate.effectively.at.
lower.wind.speeds.

The. fabric. is. inished. with. an. epoxy. resin. to. establish. the. strength. and.
rigidity.required.in.a.wind.turbine.blade.
“Ultrablade.fabric.solutions.give.designers.much.more.freedom.in.devel-
oping.longer.blades.for.today's.large.turbines,”.said.Dr..Chris.Skinner,.direc-
tor. of. global. technical. marketing. for. OCV. Technical. Fabrics,. a. division. of.
Owens.Corning.
According. to. Skinner,. “Designers. can. use. a. combination. of. several.
improved.properties.in.different.areas.of.a.blade..They.can.choose.to.increase.
blade. length. for. any. given. weight. while. keeping. the. thrust. constant. and.
assuring.suficient.tower.clearance.”
Lighter.blades.also.mean.turbines.will.be.able.to.spin.and.generate.elec-
tricity.with.greater.eficiency.at.lower.wind.speeds.