Mechanical behavior analysis of a vertical axis wind turbine blade made with fique-epoxy composite using FEM

Abstract

The present article analyses the mechanical behaviour of a natural composite VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine) blade constituted of fique and epoxy. The analysis was made using FEM (Finite Element Method) applying the wind forces. The increasing usage of renewable energies and environmental care in the last decades have required new materials to reduce the solid waste produced by the typical composites made of fiberglass and epoxy. Using biodegradable materials provides a solution to reduce the environmental impact. For instance, fique composite is studied and analysed as an option to manufacture VAWT blades. The aim of this research is to provide a computational model to analyse the strain and stress distribution, confirming a design of a VAWT blade using a fique and epoxy composite, subdued to wind forces. A computational model was generated on ANSYS software, including the anisotropic properties of the material. The numerical model recreates a VAWT blade geometry, and the number of plies was variated to obtain an acceptable stress-mass ratio. The stress distribution was obtained over the VAWT blade geometry using fique-epoxy composite. Principal stresses were contrasted to determine the critical region. The usage of a stiffener was implemented to reduce the stress peaks.