Lightweight Wind Turbine Construction

3D printed mold tool for making composite ducts that avoids the hazards and disadvantages of traditional eutectic salt methods. The tool has a sparse infill structure that allows fluid to flow through it. The tool is made of multiple 3D printed parts that assemble into a mold. Fluid is introduced into the sparse infill areas. This fluid permeates through the mold to partially cure a sacrificial fill material. The cured sacrificial mold is then used as a mandrel to shape the composite ducts. The 3D printed mold tool eliminates the need for destructive removal of salt molds and provides a lighter, faster, and safer alternative.

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Carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone (CF/PEEK) composite offer lightweight, high strength and toughness by combining benefits of resin fiber materials. However, current shaping methods face challenges such as forming difficulties, inconsistent shapes, significant mechanical damage. Herein, a CF/PEEK thermoforming device were designed. Thermoforming employs two heating molds (crimping mold at 310C roll pipe 400C) coiling roller operating 45 rpm to enable automatic efficient continuous production pipes with diameters ranging from 3 5 mm. High-strength retain excellent thermal stability during shaping, commendable properties-tensile 1467 N (decrease 8.8 %) specific stiffness 1.61 10 6 Nm/kg, 35-fold increase. Furthermore, stronger braided winding points introduced into hollow truss enhance their strengths, radial compression node-reinforced structure is 550 (improved 151 % compared that single pipe). This truss, its ultra-lightweight tensile/compressive strength, significantly expands application potential

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Lightweight, high-strength covered foam for applications like wind turbine blades, boats, cars, and buildings that use a renewable and sustainable material for the foam core. The foam is made from a copolymer containing ethylene furanoate and ethylene terephthalate units. It uses blowing agents like HFO-1234ze(E) to expand the polymer into a foam. The foam is covered with a separate material to provide strength and protection. This allows using a lighter foam for weight savings while maintaining strength in critical areas. The foam can be extruded into shapes like wind turbine blade cores, boat hulls, car underbody panels, or building insulation.

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Lightweight, high-strength closed-cell foam made from renewable and sustainable materials like polyethylene furanoate (PEF) that can be used in applications like wind turbine blades, sports equipment, transportation, and construction. The foam is extruded from a composition containing PEF polymers, tannins, and a select group of blowing agents. The foam has low density and good mechanical properties like strength and stiffness. The PEF cells contain a mixture of ethylene furanoate and ethylene terephthalate moieties. The foam can be face-sheeted with other materials for applications like wind turbine blades, or used as a standalone foam article.

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Lightweight, high-strength covered foam used in applications like transportation devices, building structures, and wind turbine blades. The foam has closed cell structure made from a polyethylene furanoate copolymer containing furanoate moieties. The foam is covered with a facing material like glass fiber reinforced polymer. The furanoate polymer provides strength and low density, while the covering provides additional strength. The blowing agent used is hydrofluoroolefin (HFO).

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Imine-based reactive diluent for composite manufacture that allows processing of high performance resins with improved rheology for efficient composite making. The diluent is added to the resin to create a chemical formulation used to infuse carbon fiber reinforcements. The infused composite is cured at elevated temperatures. The diluent reacts with the resin during curing, stabilizing the resin rheology during processing. After curing, the composite can be further carbonized at higher temperatures without oxidation due to the inert atmosphere created by the diluent. This avoids resin decomposition and allows densification through multiple cycles.

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This review investigates interlayer hybrid fiber composites for wind turbine blades (WTBs), focusing on their potential to enhance blade damage tolerance and maintain structural integrity. The objectives of this are: (I) assess the effect different lay-up configurations failure analysis (II) identify combinations WTBs supplement or replace existing glass fibers. Our method involves comprehensive qualitative quantitative analyses literature. Qualitatively, we tolerance-with an emphasis impact load-and under operational load six distinct configurations. Quantitatively, compare tensile flexural properties-essential integrity-of composites. reveals that placing high elongation (HE)-low stiffness (LS) fibers, e.g., glass, impacted side reduces size improves residual properties Placing low (LE)-high (HS) carbon, in middle layers, protects them during equips with mechanisms delay various conditions. A sandwich HE-LS fibers outermost LE-HS innermost layers provides best balance between integrity post-impact properties. benefits from synergistic effects, including bridging, enhanced buckling ... Read More

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A method for manufacturing molded components like boat hulls and wind turbine blades without the need for additional finishing after demolding. An airtight flexible sheet with a dry paint layer is secured to a backing with anchoring points. This sheet is placed unsupported against the mold face opposite the mold element. The mold is filled with the resin and vacuum is applied to compact it. The resin solidifies and the part is extracted with the exposed paint layer on the exterior. The paint layer is already on the part during demolding, eliminating the need for separate finishing steps. The sheet is anchored in the molding material as it spreads.

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Abstract This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the quasistatic compression response novel 3Dprinted carbon fiberreinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass (GFRP) corebased corrugated foamfilled sandwich composite structures (SCS). The SCSs with five different CFRP GFRP core geometries, that is, rectangular, trapezoidal, triangular, sinusoidal, Xcore, were fabricated using hybrid manufacturing method, cores produced fused filament fabrication (FFF), while facesheets vacuumassisted infusion processes. Among trapezoidal SCS outperformed showed highest peak compressive load, Xcore exhibited lowest load energy absorption. materials, superior loads absorption, irrespective geometry. However, both similar stiffness, keeping same geometry core. Results elucidate are an appropriate configuration for performance, demonstrating up to 3 times higher as compared obtained in case XGFRP SCSs. eigenvalue buckling analysis reveals excessive bending walls causes under loads, which is primarily responsible localized failure at various locations observed experimentally. T... Read More

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A method to anchor objects made of lightweight materials like composites, foams, and textiles without using fasteners or adhesives. The method involves driving protrusions on the object into the target object using vibrations. The protrusions have a helical shape that engages the target material as they move. This creates a thread-like connection. The vibrations also make the material flowable, allowing it to penetrate the target and solidify for a positive fit. The combined thread and positive fit secure the object without needing screws or glue.

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A cost-effective composite mold production system that allows complex composite parts to be formed. The system uses electroforming to create composite molds with inner and outer coatings on a foam mandrel. The inner coating increases conductivity for electroforming the outer coating. The foam mandrel has a pore structure to aid electroforming. Cleaning and etching the mandrel surface creates pores for sensitization and activation steps. The inner coating provides a conductive surface for the outer coating. This allows forming composite parts with hand layup techniques using prepreg fabrics. The foam mandrel reduces cost vs metal molds.

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ABSTRACT Carbon fiberreinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) are extensively employed in engineering applications owing to their exceptional strengthtoweight ratio and outstanding fatigue resistance. Nevertheless, when utilized critical components such as aircraft wings, wind turbine blades, structural elements, performance durability frequently degraded by harsh environmental conditions. To address these challenges, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nonwoven fabric was introduced an interlayer carbon fiber/epoxy (CF/EP) improve both erosion resistance interlaminar fracture toughness. Experimental investigations revealed remarkable enhancements mechanical properties: the CF/TPU/EP exhibited a 28.6% increase maximum load, 11.8% improvement tensile strength, substantial 45.3% augmentation bending load compared conventional CF/EP composites. Moreover, demonstrated progressive enhancement with increasing impact angles (30 90), showing improvements of 58%, 130%, 185%, 227%, 292%, respectively. These results clearly demonstrate that TPUmodified achieve superior toughness while... Read More

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ABSTRACT Aluminium - based metal matrix composites (AMMCs) are fast emerging due to their favorable properties like light weight, low density, high specific strength, hardness, temperature and thermal shock resistance, superior wear corrosive resistance as compared ordinary alloys is another added property. In the present work samples were prepared using Al- SiO2 machining operation performed obtain required shape size for smoothing surfaces. Also Prerequisite performing tensile test, impact, hardness compression microstructure. It observed from results that significant increase of reinforcement element well produces better mechanical such impact toughness hardness. But strength showed different trend machinability selected material. Microstructure analysis done on specimens it was found weight fractions MMC phases uniformly distributed. Successful incorporation in base pure aluminium by micro structural examination Optical microscope. Upon examination, fine grains coarse Al. Similar variable compositions evaluated.

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A method to join composite materials without surface preparation or adhesives to eliminate material discontinuities and improve bond integrity. The method involves using stoichiometrically offset thermoset polymers on the faying surfaces of the composites. This allows reflow and diffusion of the resin during a secondary curing process to seamlessly integrate the materials. The offset ratios enable intermixing of resin components from each side, creating a conventional resin ratio at the interface. This eliminates the need for surface prep and adhesives to join composites with imperfect surfaces.

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Coating molding feedstock particles with discrete carbon nanotubes to improve properties like strength, conductivity, and processability. The coating thickness is 5-5000 nm on particles <5 mm. The carbon nanotube coatings have controlled porosity and surface modifications for sintering, wetting, and flow. The coating composition has <20% entangled nanotube bundles >5 µm in size. The coatings can be used in 3D printing, molding, and injection molding processes.

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Char-filled polymer composites for improved properties like density, weight, electrical conductivity, and flammability. The composites are made by adding pyrolyzed paint sludge or a hybrid of pyrolyzed paint sludge and lignin to polymers like polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, and polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. This replaces conventional fillers like talc and glass fiber. The pyrolyzed paint sludge can be obtained from automotive paint waste. The composites have higher strength, elongation, and density compared to virgin polymers, while reducing weight compared to fillers like talc. The composites also have lower flammability and conductivity compared to the virgin polymers.

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Manufacturing a composite material with improved thermal conductivity by planarizing the surface of the metal foam component before forming the composite. The process involves planarizing the metal foam (step b) before or during mixing with the curable polymer (step c) to create a smoother surface. This increases the bonding area between the composite and the material it contacts, improving heat transfer efficiency. Planarization can be done on the metal foam precursor, the metal foam, the polymer-foam mixture, or the cured composite.

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Method to improve fiber dispersion in ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) by coating the ceramic fibers with a polymer binder to increase inter-filament spacing. This coating facilitates applying the interface coating and infiltrating matrix into the ceramic tows during CMC fabrication. The coating also prevents fiber-to-fiber contact issues in the CMC that can lead to weaknesses or failures. The coated fibers are formed into preforms and then debulked, decomposed, coated, and densified to create the CMC component.

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Carbon fiber-reinforced composite (CFRP) material with improved lightning strike resistance without adding conductive particles. The CFRP has a structure that reduces the risk of edge glow during lightning strikes. The key feature is a specific layer with carbon fibers closely packed together to form conductive paths between layers. The layer has a unique fiber orientation distribution with low void content in the fiber direction. This forces the fibers to contact each other and provides direct conduction between layers. The CFRP also has high overall conductivity in the thickness direction.

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A panel with alternating connected and unconnected regions between skins and an intermediate portion. The panel provides reduced weight with improved strength compared to solid intermediate sections. The connected regions have protrusions in one skin and recesses in the other, alternating with unconnected regions. The sizes in the connected regions gradually change perpendicular to the direction of alternation. This allows localized connection and prevents concentration of forces. It also allows controlled cooling without sudden temperature drops.

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