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The rapid growth in wind energy technology has led to an increase in the amount of thermosetting FRP composite materials used in wind turbine blades that will need to be recycled or disposed of in the near future. Calculations show that 16.8 million tons of waste from wind blades will need to be managed globally by 2030, increasing to 39.8 million tons by 2050. Three waste management route are possible: disposal, recycling or reusing. Currently, most FRP composites taken out of service are disposal of in landfills or are incinerated. Recycling options consist of reclamation of the constituent fibers or the resins by thermo–chemical methods or recycling of small pieces of granular FRP material as filler material by cutting, shredding or grinding. Reuse options consist of reusing the entire FRP blade or large parts of the blade in new structural applications. This paper reports on the potential for reusing parts of wind turbine blades in new or retrofitted architectural and civil infrastructure projects. The paper introduces the geometry, materials, and laminates typically used in wind blades and provides a snapshot of the sizes of wind blades likely to be available from the inventory of active turbines. Because the materials and manufacturing of commercial wind blades are proprietary, generic blade geometries and materials are discussed. These come from the Sandia National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in the United States, and from OPTIMAT in the European Union. The paper presents an example of the geometry and material properties of structural elements cut from wind blades, using the Numerical Manufacturing and Design Tool (NUMAD), published by the Sandia National Laboratory.
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Structural analysis of FRP parts from waste wind turbine blades for building reuse applications
The focus of this work is on the problem of the future waste to be generated by the decom-missioning of wind farms and especially the Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite materials used in the wind turbine blades. The FRP composites used to manufacture the blades are not biodegradable and present severe problems with regard to waste management and their End-of-Life (EOL). The impact on polymers on the environment and society has become a major concern in many countries. With the increased awareness of the environmental impacts of climate change, decreased and more expensive natural resources, and greater global concerns for health, the barriers to FRP production and waste disposal are likely to increase. In the context of the circular economy the preferred method to manage FRP waste is to use it in new applications or processes. Recent structural analysis research conducted by the authors related to reuse of FRP composite material parts from decommissioned wind turbine blades in infrastructure applications is presented in this paper.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1949818
- PAR ID:
- 10148555
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advances in Engineering Materials, Structures and Systems: Innovations, Mechanics and Applications
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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