Nanoengineered Composite Materials for Wind Turbine Blades

Renewable energy sources like wind energy plays prominent role in reducing the dependency on fossil fuels and are part of the solution to the global energy problem and to reduce the carbon footprint. The renewable energy, in particular, wind energy production should be drastically expanded in the coming decades in order to reduce fossil fuel dependency. This can be achieved by the installation and use of large and extra-large wind turbines. The basic requirements to the performances of such mega wind turbine can be satisfied only by using advanced, lightweight, highly durable, fatigue resistant and damage tolerant and stiff composite materials. Composite materials are used typically in blades and nacelles of wind turbines to obtain these required set of properties. Nanotechnology is the way to go to further enhance the properties of conventional composite materials so that larger and larger wind turbines can be fabricated in order to meet the current and the future nonrenewable energy demands. In this paper, the concept of electrospun polymer nanofibers interleaving to enhance fracture toughness and resistance, and fatigue properties in terms of delamination onset life and fatigue threshold energy release rate was described. Results of nanoengineered composite laminate showed significant improvements in properties such as fracture toughness and resistance (150% and 33% increase, respectively), delamination onset life and fatigue threshold energy release rate (67% increase) with no penalty of thickness increase or loss of in-plane properties such as tension and compression properties (strength, modulus, and Poisson’s ratio).