Wind turbine blades receive sustainable upgrade | Virginia Tech News

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the average wind turbine generates enough electricity in 46 minutes to power a U.S. home for a month. And with more than 70,800 turbines scattered across the country, wind power has now surpassed hydropower as the largest renewable energy producer.

With a $2 million grant from the Department of Energy, Virginia Tech researchers are pioneering a process to make this sustainable energy source even more sustainable. The grant is part of his $72 million effort to innovate manufacturing processes for wind technology and create sustainable solutions for harnessing wind energy. The Virginia Tech research team will use new methods of additive manufacturing, computational design, and recyclable high-strength thermoplastic materials.

Chris Williams, LS Randolph Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is leading the project along with Associate Professor Michael Bortner in the Department of Chemical Engineering. They will be joined by postdoctoral researcher Joseph Kubarak and graduate student researchers from the Institute for Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Polymer Innovation. The project, in collaboration with Kevin T. Crofton, Research Associate Professor Aurelien Borgoltz and Research Assistant Professor Nanyaporn Intaratep, in the Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, used Virginia Tech's Stability Wind Tunnel to evaluate printed turbine blades. To do.

Although the energy produced by wind turbines is green, the materials in wind turbines are not recyclable, generate huge amounts of waste, and the blades are extremely difficult to manufacture, Williams said. The project we propose aims to dramatically reduce waste, completely eliminate all hazardous substances, and make it possible to 3D print wind turbines that are fully recyclable.

To achieve this, Williams, director of the Design, Research, and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems (DREAMS) Institute, said the project required a fusion of three key innovations.

Robotically print large objects using new technology created in the DREAMS lab Leverage proprietary design optimization techniques to enhance how materials are printed in the most powerful and efficient way possible Boltner and his team offer a new fully recyclable polymer composite with the properties of commonly known glass fiber reinforced composites Environmental improvements for the future

Wind turbine blades are currently manufactured in off-site production facilities using large molds that require long lead times. Once these blades are manufactured, they make long and expensive journeys in semi-trucks to far-flung destinations. According to Utility Drive, relocating these approximately 200 feet of energy generators could require up to 10 loads and a year of planning. The team's new printing technique could one day provide a means to manufacture large turbine blades close to their installation site, solving transportation challenges.

Bortner, associate director of the Institute for Polymer Innovation, said there is currently a great emphasis on renewable energy resources and the deployment of renewable resources around the world. By combining my focus on the materials research side and Chris Williams' work on the process side of additive manufacturing, we are working together to solve these complex problems and create his components for full-scale wind turbine blades. I was able to migrate.

When it comes to wind turbine blade design, the materials used in construction play a key role in overall performance and durability. This becomes increasingly important as wind turbine blades increase in size to harness more energy. Although modern blades are made from some recyclable materials, they are not completely recyclable. This new process eliminates the use of hazardous substances during manufacturing and makes it reusable.

The company has a new material design that, when processed with 3D printing, not only produces properties traditionally used to construct wind turbine blades, but is also fully recyclable, Bortner said. states. So if a blade becomes damaged or reaches the end of its lifespan, it can be disassembled, reprocessed, and 3D printed again to create a new blade.

Energy costs have been rising in recent years, Bortner said. We need to start identifying more practical and cheaper ways to harness renewable energy resources. By identifying technologies that reduce energy costs, those cost savings will ultimately be passed on to the average consumer.

The process is made possible by the team's new innovations in 3D printing, which allow objects larger than the printer itself to be printed on the spot, such as wind turbine blades.

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