JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #143 - November/December 2021 - 38

FEATURE natural fi bre
mechanical properties in the fi nal structure, "
comments Michael Th on from Time Out
Composite, the German distributor for
Sicomin.
Once the infused panels were trimmed
and tacked together on the temporary
supporting ribs, Sicomin GreenPoxy 33
resins were used for laminating and secondary
bonding fl ax reinforcing tapes and
additional plywood bulkheads.
Finally, Sicomin's SGi 128 intumescent
bio-based FR gelcoat was applied to provide
a durable coating for the nacelle's interior
and exterior surface, with TopClear
UV-resistant clear coats also used to
protect the fl ax fi bre feature stripe details.
Fig. 2: The nacelle structure
" For a structure like the nacelle, it was critical
that we selected materials that process
consistently and perform well in large-scale
components, and this is where Sicomin are so
strong, " noted Friedrich Deimann, founder
and MD of Greenboats, when discussing
material selection. " Th eir resins, gelcoats
and clear coats meet our sustainability
targets, and match our NFC ethos, with no
compromise on performance. Most importantly,
when we need to scale up, they can
really supply on an industrial level. "
Long-term evaluation of
natural-fi bre composites
Th e nacelle was delivered to the client in
January 2021 and later installed on the project's
customised V44 600kW wind turbine
that is currently located onshore on the
Maasvlakte in Rott erdam (Figure 4). It is
planned to stay on this site until November
2021, before the turbine is moved to a new
location.
Fig. 3: Dry materials before infusion
weave patt erns - bi-axial, twill and unidirectional
(UD) formats - that deliver
excellent mechanical properties with low
environmental impact thanks to the fl ax fi -
bres being CO2
neutral over their lifetime.
For the nacelle project, Bcomp supplied
twill-weave reinforcements for the main
sandwich panels as well as bi-axial tapes
for the panel joints.
38
jec composites magazine / N°
" Th is project, along with other large panel
NFC applications in wind, was ideal for
InfuGreen 810. Its low viscosity is very important
for processing, but the viscosity cannot
be too low - if the resin fl ows too fast it can
cause porosity. Even more important are the
fi bre wett ing properties of the resin itself, and
in this respect, InfuGreen's performance is superior
to a standard system, giving improved
143 November - December 2021
Both Greenboats and Sicomin have
extensive test data and experience from
various NFC and bio-resin projects, with
both their R&D teams cooperating with a
number of research institutes and universities
to investigate topics such as the impact
of saltwater, humidity, weathering and UV
light on the performance of composites.
As a result, the team has a very good idea
of how the nacelle will perform, expecting
the same or bett er ageing performance
compared to conventional materials.
Greenboats will monitor the nacelle per
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #143 - November/December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #143 - November/December 2021
