MaterialsLab

The core focus of our manufacturing facilities lies in optimizing process conditions and advancing the production of fiber-reinforced polymer composites, with a strong emphasis on understanding the resulting material properties. The ultimate objective is to enable the industrialization of wind turbine blade production.

Typical reinforcements include glass, carbon, or bio-sourced fibers embedded in thermosetting polymer matrices. Test laminates are produced under controlled conditions using vacuum infusion or hot press molding techniques, while lay-up is achieved either through filament winding or by stacking fiber fabrics.

These facilities play a vital role in providing experimental validation and generating input data to support numerical process models for composite manufacturing. Comprehensive investigation and characterization efforts encompass single-fiber composites, fabric drapeability and permeability, fiber and matrix density, resin viscosity and cure kinetics.

An essential function of the laboratory is the processing and preparation of samples for accredited composite material testing, serving both in-house research and industrial partners. This ensures that the materials meet rigorous performance standards and contribute to the development of reliable, high-performance composite structures.

The characterization capabilities of the MaterialsLab are fundamental to the broader activities within the facility, often serving as the foundation for understanding damage mechanisms and supporting modeling efforts. Several of these characterization processes are also covered under the lab’s ISO 17025 accreditation.

The team conducts material characterization across metallic materials, polymers, and composites, supported by state-of-the-art equipment for sample preparation and microscopic analysis. The lab is equipped with tools for cutting, embedding, polishing, and etching, enabling high-quality sample preparation.

A wide range of microscopy equipment is available, including:

• Standard optical microscopes
• A 3D topographic imaging microscope for surface roughness analysis
• Three scanning electron microscopes (SEM)
• An environmental SEM for examining non-conductive materials

Microscopy is used to evaluate material quality at the microstructural level, both post-manufacturing and as a fractographic tool for failure analysis.

Additionally, fiber content measurement is a key technique for verifying the quality of composite materials. These measurements are performed in the MaterialsLab using various methods such as burn-off, acid digestion, and microscopy. Several of these techniques are in the process of being accredited under the lab’s ISO 17025 certification umbrella.

Sensing, understanding, and monitoring of damage in materials is a core competence of the MaterialsLab. The lab employs a wide range of advanced sensors and monitoring technologies, used in both testing and manufacturing applications. Available techniques include:

• Acoustic Emission
• Digital Image Correlation (DIC)
• Ultrasound
• Thermographic imaging using Infrared (IR) cameras
• Optical cameras
• Strain gauges or clip-on extensometers
• Thermocouples
• Fiber optic sensors for strain measurements and temperature evolution

These technologies are applied across various scales—from coupon-level specimens to elements, sub-sections, and full-scale structures, for both metallic and composite materials. This enables accurate detection, localization, and characterization of damage, contributing to improved material performance and reliability.

The testing facilities are an ISO 17025-accredited laboratory, equipped with a wide range of advanced equipment including 16 servo-hydraulic machines, electro-mechanical machines, and a pulsator machine with load capacities ranging from 1 kN to 500 kN. To support research and enhance material characterization, the lab also features a single fiber tester and a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA).

The primary objective of the facility is to advance the understanding of composite damage mechanisms, with particular focus on varying fatigue R-ratios. To enable this, the lab employs monitoring techniques such as infrared (IR) cameras, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) systems, and other sensing techniques (more information available in the monitoring and sensing section).

In addition to research, the lab’s accreditation allows it to support the wind energy industry in material qualification. The team is actively engaged in developing new testing techniques and specimen geometries to assess the full potential of emerging high-performance composite materials.

A dedicated segment of the facility focuses on small-scale bearing testing, specifically for components with an inner bore of 60 mm. This area includes two customized FE8 test rigs, modified with programmable hydraulic load units to simulate transient wind turbine loads and stray currents similar to those found in drivetrain systems. The rigs support continuous or pitch rotation, accommodate ball, tapered, or thrust bearings, and operate with oil or grease lubrication, all under controlled temperature conditions.

In addition to these core areas, DTU operates high temperature superconductor, which supports the development of compact and efficient superconducting technologies for next-generation wind turbine generators. This facility enables testing of superconducting components under realistic operating conditions, contributing to the advancement of high-power electrical systems for renewable energy.

This facility is the latest addition to the DANAK accreditation framework of the Materialslab.

The rain erosion testing facility at DTU is a specialized setup designed to evaluate the durability of coating materials used in wind turbine blades, particularly at the leading edge where erosion is most severe. The tester simulates high-speed droplet impacts under controlled conditions, replicating the harsh environmental exposure experienced by blades in operation.

This facility plays a critical role in assessing the erosion resistance of coatings and composite materials, enabling researchers and industry partners to develop and validate protective solutions that extend blade lifespan and reduce maintenance costs. The insights gained from rain erosion testing feed directly into material selection, surface treatment development, and predictive modeling for long-term performance in offshore and onshore wind environments.