Tecosim is working on its three-year project to discover new, scalable materials to use in the construction of wind turbine rotor blades. The company has teamed up with Leibniz University in Hannover to carry out its research.
The project’s main focus is looking at nano-modified materials and hybrid laminates. These have the potential for greater service life and stress resistance than current glass fibre reinforced composites. Issues of scalability will also be assessed in the research. It is important that the materials recommended at the end of the study can be reproduced in a cost-effective manner.
Tecosim is testing different composites by building full-scale rotor blades using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software. The rotor blade is then subjected to the various stressors and environmental factors it would experience in the real world. Using CAE allows the company to test the rotor blades to failure without the need to construct further models every time. The company is testing different hybrid materials made from glass-fibres, carbon-fibres and metal foil.
