Materials and design methods look for the 100-m blade
Commercial wind-turbine blades have historically relied on fiberglass as a primary material. In 2010, a Sandia National Laboratories’ report estimated annual U.S. industry usage for utility-grade turbine blades at over 70,000 metric tons. As designers build bigger blades in an effort to boost power production and cost efficiency, material systems are evolving to account for the increasing weight and additional gravitational stresses. Engineers are now looking to high-performance composites for greater strength and lighter weight at competitive prices. But consider that a typical 1.5-MW blade is 33 to 40-m long, weighs up to eight tons, and can have composite layups as thick as 4-in. at the root. Now you begin to grasp the engineering challenge inherent in designing an efficient, cost-effective composite blade.
