Design of a small sustainable wind blade

Abstract

The European Union is committed to becoming the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050. To this end, member countries have outlined a long-term strategy to achieve this goal. Among the cross-cutting elements that will make this possible is the Circular Economy. In this context, the aim is to reduce raw materials by extending the useful life of products, reusing them, recycling materials, etc. In the wind energy sector, between 80 and 90% of wind turbines are currently recycled. Wind turbine blades, manufactured mainly from composites, are difficult to recycle in terms of economic efficiency. Even so, several technical solutions currently exist at varying levels of technological maturity. The work presented is the design of a sustainable wind turbine blade, replacing the epoxytype thermosetting resins used until now with a thermoplastic resin with similar mechanical properties, with the advantage that the composites produced are easily recyclable. This new liquid thermoplastic resin, AKELITE, patented by the CSIC group, is capable of producing sustainable and 100% circular composite materials. A 3D CAD model was created from a series of cross-sections of the blade. This model describes the blade&aposs aerodynamic surface, so that in the finite element design phase (ANSYS Workbench), the laminate is defined from the outside in. The laminate design prioritizes longitudinal stiffness, ensuring the presence of layers in all traditional layers (0°, 90°, and ±45°), maintaining symmetry, and progressively reducing thickness from root to tip. The blade was subsequently manufactured and finally tested. The blade is currently being recycled for subsequent life cycle analysis. This work is part of a project under the call for 'Projects aimed at the ecological transition and the digital transition' with the participation of three research groups: CIEMAT, the University of Girona, and the CSIC

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