E!1492 GEFWIN

Purpose and goal: Design, Fabrication and Testing of Composite Turbine Blades Using New Rapid Tow Shearing (RTS). Quality assessment and mechanical properties. Sustainability assessment. Expected results and effects:

Rapid Tow Shearing (RTS) is a process that offers the unique capability of steering without defects. This can enable improved structural integrity and reduced use of raw material. RTS is a patented and automated process for composites manufacturing. GEFWIN aims to penetrate the Wind Energy market with RTS. The RTS process willbe demonstrated for a small scale wind turbine blade.

Approach and implementation:

A turbine design computational platform will be developed for the efficient interaction of design simulation tools. An optimized blade geometry will be derived from the computational study. Two blade components will be manufactured using both RTS and conventional manufacturing processes.

A systematic comparison will be performed in terms of mass properties and mechanical strength. Environmental and life cycle assessments will be carried out to evaluate the sustainability and environmental potential of the product.