Print Email Facebook Twitter Design and experimental analysis of hat-stiffened panels for thermoplastic wind turbine blades Title Design and experimental analysis of hat-stiffened panels for thermoplastic wind turbine blades Author Blanken, A. Contributor van Bussel, G.J.W. (mentor) Zaaijer, M.B. (mentor) Geuskens, F.J.J.M.M. (mentor) Hulskamp, A.W. (mentor) Faculty Aerospace Engineering Department Wind Energy Programme Sustainable Energy Technology Date 2010-04-01 Abstract Developments in large wind turbine blades point towards a redesign of conventional blade structures into a rib-spar-skin design. Additionally research on thermoplastic glass fibre composites shows promising results, concerning material properties as well as manufacturing and assembly processes, for the application of thermoplastic composites in a rib-spar-skin design of a turbine blade. Thermoplastics are not compatible with traditional core materials of sandwich constructions. A monolithic design on the other hand mixes very well with capabilities of thermoplastic technology, such as rubber forming and welding, and has a potential in cost and weight reduction. This thesis is focused on the design of a hat-stiffened panel as an alternative for a conventional sandwich structure, which is used as a skin in modern wind turbine blades. Although thermoset glass fibre composites are used in this thesis the research is aimed at development of thermoplastic wind turbine blades. A sandwich panel was isolated from a turbine blade design in order to be used as a reference for the design of a hat-stiffened panel. The sandwich panel has been analyzed on failure modes due to longitudinal compression and a reference compression load was established. Several methods were used to develop an optimization methodology for the design of a mass-efficient hat-stiffened panel. In order to validate the theory, a scaled version of the designed hat-stiffened panel was constructed in order to be used in experiments. Furthermore a test rig was designed to provide simply supported boundary conditions during the experiments. Several elastic buckling experiments have been carried out as well as a post-buckling failure experiment. Subject Windenergy To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:558ccd7e-b7b0-4e39-81b8-ee4d9b20d6c5 Part of collection Student theses Document type master thesis Rights (c) 2010 A. Blanken Files PDF Amir Blanken r.pdf 6.23 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:558ccd7e-b7b0-4e39-81b8-ee4d9b20d6c5/datastream/OBJ/view