Composites Manufacturing and Testing
Our ambition is to improve understanding of the performance of composite materials. Using our long-term experience in working with composites, from their manufacturing to their mechanical testing, and in close contact with industry, we wish to keep playing a central role in the development of next generation wind turbine blades.
Over the last 40 years, wind turbine blades have grown in magnitude. This development is closely linked with an improved understanding of the performance of composite materials. The experimental work in the section’s labs is coupled with research on the special characteristics of composites covering the central themes of permeability, resin flow, cure cycle design, leading edge erosion, recycling, and fatigue performance.
- Residual stresses and cure kinetics
- Permeability and flow measurements
- Unidirectional fibre composites for controlled studies
- Single fibre specimens
- Microstructural characterization
- Strain controlled fatigue testing
- Fatigue damage evolution
- Test method development
- Design and test of elements
- Fracture mechanics
- Vacuum infusion, filament winding, press consolidation
- 2D and 3D permeability
- Test specimen preparation
- 3D X-ray tomography
- Matrix cure kinetics
- Fibre and porosity content
- Single fibre testing
- Static and fatigue testing; DANAK accredited
- Fracture toughness testing
- Add-on measurements; thermography, DIC, camera triggering
- Environmental testing
Research area & applications
- Cure cycle design
- Leading edge erosion
- Fatigue of composites
- New materials for wind turbine blades; e.g. hybrid composites, thermoplastic composites, biobased fibres and resins
- Structural elements in wind turbine blades; e.g. sandwich, plydrops, wrinkles
- Recycling of composites
- Sustainability of materials and processes