Improved Blades via Advanced Manufacturing
Intelligent Manufacturing of Hybrid Carbon-Glass Fiber-Reinforced Composite Wind Turbine Blades
Project Lead: Dr. Bob Minaie, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Wichita State University
The one-year goal of this project is to improve the manufacturability of carbon-glass fiber-reinforced composite blades. This task is significant because carbon-glass fiber-reinforced composite is more durable than the more common blade materials. Improved manufacturing processes are needed to make carbon-glass fiber-reinforced composite economical. The approach will be to utilize mold filling and curing simulation to optimize the manufacturing process parameters using cost-effective vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM). The objective of the flow simulation is to eliminate or significantly reduce defect formation by determining the optimum configuration for the location of the inlet gates, exit vents, and enhanced flow media distribution. A finite element model capable of handling various blade geometries will be used to effectively simulate the filling. This will result in an effective utilization of resin-dispensing equipment, and the manufacturing process will be optimized to produce defect-free blades.
The milestones and deliverables for this one year project are as follows:
- Simulate the resin-filling pattern during VARTM manufacturing of the wind blades, which will enable intelligent design of the manufacturing process.
- Simulate the cure to determine temperature gradients in the composite during this process, which will allow designers to assure structural integrity of the wind blade based on the temperature differences along the part.
- Optimize parameters for the manufacturing of the wind blades, which include (but are not limited to) the following: gate and vent locations, flow pattern, distribution media placement, and energy requirements.
Contact Information:
Bob Minaie, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering
Wichita State University
bob.minaie@wichita.edu
Supported by the Department of Energy
DOE DE-FG36-08GO88149
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