SAMPE Journal - May/June 2021 - 14

FEATURE / WIND BL ADE DEMONSTRATOR
CONCLUSION
A test fixture was designed at The University of
Edinburgh to test a 6.0m hybrid carbon/glass fibre
powder epoxy composite blade. This demonstrator
was designed by Suzlon and manufactured by
EireComposites. 4 Load Cases identified by the
blade designer as the most critical were applied
and the blade was tested according to the DNVGLST-03769 test specification. A purposely built root
connection and an adjustable hydraulic actuator
allowed loading of the blade in any direction.
Strain was recorded throughout the blade using
strain gauges and in the glass fibre to carbon fibre
transition region using DIC software provided by
MatchID. Displacement was measured using string
potentiometers and motion tracking cameras,
while the natural frequency and damping ratios
were recorded using accelerometers during free
vibration of the blade. The repeat run of Load Case
4 showed no increase in the measured strain or
displacement compared to the first run. The natural
frequency did not decrease during the test program.
This shows that no reduction in the stiffness
occurred throughout the test, which suggests that
no damage detrimental to the integrity of the
structure appeared while subjected to the 4 critical
loads. The displacements measured during testing
were also well under the maximum allowable
0.4m displacement. This test program therefore
successfully validated the design of this novel blade
and the recorded strains, displacements, natural
frequencies, mass and damping values will serve as
the basis for a comparison between the predicted
and observed structural performance of the blade
by Suzlon.

3. Ong, C.-H.; Tsai, S.W. The Use of Carbon Fibers in Wind

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https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1419306/turbines-year-rotor-blades https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1419306/turbines-year-rotor-blades http://www.americanmachinist.com/news/article/21903042/ge-reveals-worlds-largest-windturbine-blade http://www.americanmachinist.com/news/article/21903042/ge-reveals-worlds-largest-windturbine-blade http://www.americanmachinist.com/news/article/21903042/ge-reveals-worlds-largest-windturbine-blade http://www.pccomposites.com http://www.sampe.org

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