Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate nanocomposite materials with good outdoor resistance for wind turbine blade application. The nanocomposites based on epoxy resin with 5% of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR 50), 3% of nanofiller, and glass fibers, were subjected to experiments. The weathering resistance of nanocomposites was evaluated from the change in mechanical properties caused by accelerated aging, induced by UVB radiation in a weathering chamber. The accelerated aging improved tensile strength by about 35% at 168 h of exposure to UVB, via a curing effect. The nanocomposites were optimized for all the parts of wind turbine blades (Savonius and Darrieus types) that are generally designed for high strength, low weight, weathering resistance, and low rotational speed (2 m/s). A tree wind turbine with nanocomposite blades produced 5 kW power output when tested. Based on the findings in this work, the innovative nanocomposites have potential in manufacturing wind turbines to generate electricity.
Highlights
The use of fossil fuels is associated with pollution and resource depletion that present important challenges, which demand reduction of emissions and use of renewable energy sources [1]
The vertical axis wind turbines with Savonius and Darrieus rotors operate at low wind speeds
The investigation was motivated by Savonius and Darrieus wind turbines operating at low wind speeds of 2 m/s
Summary
The use of fossil fuels is associated with pollution and resource depletion that present important challenges, which demand reduction of emissions and use of renewable energy sources [1]. Up to 50% of European wind blade manufacturers nowadays use epoxy resins due to their excellent properties, such as light weight, good adhesion, high modulus, resistance to fatigue, low creep, reasonable elevated temperature performance, and lack of shrinkage after cooling [20,21,22,23,24]. They are brittle and fail under impact. The Mechanical Properties of the Nanocomposite and Wind Turbine Blade Samples The Izod impact strength of cured nanocomposites specimens used notched samples measured according to ASTM D256. Hand lay-up is the most common and least expensive open-molding method, because it requires the least amount of equipment
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