94
Three-Dimension
Woven Carbon-Glass Hybrid Wind Turbine Blades--3TEX,
Inc., 109 MacKenan Drive, Cary, NC
27511-7903; 919-481-2500
Dr.
Larry Dickinson, Principal Investigator, dickinson1@asme.org
Mr.
R. Bradley Lienhart, Business Official, lienhartb@3tex.com
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-02ER83354
Amount:
$100,000
The
increased use of environmentally-friendly wind energy would help reduce
pollution and the emission of hydrocarbons.
Wind energy is a fast growing business area, with state-of-the-art
turbine blades approaching design limits based on glass reinforced composite
materials. New materials and blade
design approaches that utilize higher performance carbon fibers would enable
lighter materials and larger blades that are more efficient and cost effective.
In this project, the inherent property, processing, and cost advantages
of three-dimensional woven fabrics will be combined with balsa cores to make
superior sandwich materials. These
structural laminates will be stronger, stiffer, and lighter.
Phase I will analyze and design suitable carbon-glass hybrid
three-dimensional woven fabrics and subsequent composite sandwich materials. These
materials will be fabricated and mechanically tested, and the resulting data
used to evaluate the effectiveness of carbon-glass hybrids. A
simple cost analysis will be performed and a design strategy for an optimized
sandwich design of wind turbine blades will be developed.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The materials, data, and design approaches should be directly applicable for the design and manufacture of large wind turbine blades. This technology should enable the use of larger blades and more efficient wind energy systems, making wind energy more competitive and more wide spread.