Thermoplastic Composite Wind Turbine Blades

Kjelt van Rijswijk Harald Bersee

Delft University of Technology Faculty of Aerospace Engineering Design and Production of Composites Structures

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Contents
Introduction:
Large Blades Materials, Design & Manufacturing

Vacuum Infusion of Thermoplastic Composites:

Anionic Polyamide-6 Resin Infusion Process & Equipment

Composite Properties:
Static Properties Dynamic Properties

Conclusions

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Large Wind Turbine Blades

Dedicated Offshore Wind Power Systems:
Stronger and more constant wind Increasingly large blades to increase power output per turbine and reduce cost per kWh No noise-pollution and aesthetical issues

Larger blades require:

Materials with higher specific properties (E/, /):
Carbon fiber based composites

More efficient structural designs

mblade (Rblade))33 mblade (Rblade

2.35

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Alternative Structural Design

Re-introduction of ribs:
Higher structural efficiency (E/) Reduces buckling of the spar Provides attachment points and load paths for smart actuators/control surfaces and sensors Not entirely new

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Thermoplastic Composites
Current blade manufacturing technology:
Thermoset composites 2 skins and 1 spar assembled through structural bonding Vacuum infusion or pre-pregging of individual parts

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Thermoplastic Composites
Alternative blade manufacturing technology:
Thermoplastic composites 2 skins, 1 spar and many ribs assembled through welding Rubber forming and diaphragm forming of individual parts
Heating element Clamp connection Welded parts Ampmeter Voltmeter Infra red heating panels Pre-cut laminate sheet material Rubber die Rubber press

Metal die

Final thermoplastic composite part

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Thermoplastic Composites
Additional advantages:
Better impact properties Do not turn brittle at low temperatures Unlimited shelf-life of the raw materials Fully recyclable (environmental and economocal benefits)

Drawbacks:
Poor fatigue performance due to poor fiber-to-matrix bond Requires introduction of new and expensive technology High material costs due to the need for intermediate processing steps High processing temperatures (>200C) Melt processing limits achievable part size and thickness

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Vacuum Infusion of Thermoplastic Composites

Reactive processing:
Manufacturing of larger, thicker and more integrated thermoplastic composite parts Improved chemical bonding due to in-situ polymerization of the matrix around the fibers Manufacturing of parts directly from the monomer Commonly used technology for blade manufacturing

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Vacuum Infusion of Thermoplastic Composites

Anionic Polyamide-6:
AP Nylon, Brggemann Chemical World wide availability Price/performance (2-3 /kg) Viscosity (10 mPa.s) Processing temperature (150-180C)
100000 10000

PMMA
1000 Melt viscosity [Pas]

PES PEEK PA-12 PEKK PEI PPS PA-6 PBT

100

Melt processing of thermoplastic polymers Reactive processing of thermoset resins

vinylester polyester PMMA PBT PA-12 epoxy PC

10

ETPU PEK

0,1

0,01

PA-6

0,001 0 50 100 150 200 250

Reactive processing of thermoplastic resins

300 350 400 450

Processing temperature [C]

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Anionic Polyamide-6
Control of Reaction Rate
Degree of conversion [%] .
100 80 60 40 20 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 time [min]
infusion
ACTIVATOR C20 INITIATOR C1

cure

CAPROLACTAM

Fast system Slow system

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Simultaneous Polymerization & Crystallization

O C N
-

O C + N

O C NH

O C N

O C NH

NH C O

Initiator
O C N O C

Activator
NH N
-

PA-6
O NH C O NH C N O C NH NH C O NH + O C N
-

O C N

O C NH C O n NH
*

C O

Monomer
Grouping of polymer chains into Switchboards Hydrogen bonding between amide groups
O HN

O NH O

NH

O NH

Stacks of switchboards forming spherical conglomerates called spherulites

O O HN

HN O HN

Tpol < Tc Tpol < Tc Polymerization Polymerization and crystallization and crystallization occur occur simultaneously. simultaneously.

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Simultaneous Polymerization & Crystallization

Selecting the optimum process temperature:
Too low: polymerization stops
Crystal Monomer

Too high: Crystallization difficult Much too high: Crystallization stops

Crystal

Long polymer chain

Branched polymer chain

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Simultaneous Polymerization & Crystallization

Selecting the optimum process temperature:
Optimum temperature: Continuous polymerization & Crystallization

Short polymer chain

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Anionic Polyamide-6

Tensile properties of the neat resin

1
0.1 0.2

Condition 23C, dry 23C, 50% RH 80C, dry

Youngs modulus [GPa] 4.2 (+ 41%) 2.1 (+ 59%) 1.6 (+ 65%)

Maximum strength [MPa] 96 (+ 14%) 61 (+ 4%) 51 (+ 32%)

Strain at failure [%] 9 (-) 28 (-) 29 (-)

Compared to injection molded PA-6

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Vacuum Infused APA-6 Composites

110C

160-180C 60 minutes

110C

250 mbar

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Vacuum Infused APA-6 Composites

200 180
Temperature [C]

160

140

120

100 0 5 10 15 Time [min] 20

APA-6 140C APA-6 150C APA-6 160C APA-6 170C APA-6/GF 180C APA-6/GF 170C APA-6/GF 160C 25

Exothermic reaction Exothermic reaction

30

Processing temperatures: Processing temperatures: Neat APA-6: 150-170C Neat APA-6: 150-170C APA-6 Composites: 160-180C APA-6 Composites: 160-180C

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Vacuum Infused APA-6 Composites

Physical properties

Static mechanical properties

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Vacuum Infused APA-6 Composites

Fatigue performance Fatigue performance
400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

Reactive processing Reactive processing

S [MPa]

APA-6 (180C) PA-6 Epoxy

1. 0E +0

1. 0E +0

1. 0E +0

1. 0E +0

1. 0E +0

Melt processing Melt processing

1. 0E +0

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Conclusions
For increasing blade lengths, switching to more efficient structural designs is inevitable: the re-introduction of ribs is suggested. For rib/spar/skin-structures, thermoplastic composites are favoured over thermoset composites. Parts can be rapidly melt processed and assembled through welding. Blades will be fully recyclable. Vacuum infusion of thermoplastic composites is introduced to overcome the classical drawbacks of these materials: limited size and thickness of parts, poor fatigue resistance, expensive materials. The cure of a semi-crystalline thermoplastic resin is more complicated than of a thermoset resin.

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Conclusions
AP Nylon has a low viscosity (10 mPas), good availability, a low price (2-3 /kg), and a relatively low processing temperature (150-180C). Reactively processed PA-6 outperforms melt processed PA-6 in all temperatures and humidities tested. Static properties of APA-6 composites are better than of their HPA-6 and epoxy counterparts in dry conditions. When moisture conditioned, the performance of APA-6 composites drop rapidly, which is caused by the low conversions and high void contents. Reactive processing of thermoplastic composites results in a strong interfacial bond strength and leads consequently to better fatigue performance compared to melt processing.

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Questions?