Powder binders used for the manufacturing of wind turbine rotor blades. part 1. Characterization of resin-binder interaction and preform properties - Schmidt - 2016 - Polymer Composites - Wiley Online Library
Glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) are the predominant materials used for wind turbine rotor blades. To manufacture blades in a vacuum-assisted resin infusion process (VARI), a binder is needed for fiber fixation and preform stability. Moreover, solubility and mechanical compatibility of the binder and the epoxy resin matrix are important parameters for processability and the mechanical properties of the composite. The present study therefore characterized and evaluated five chemically different binders with regard to their solubility in a rotor-blade-proven epoxy resin using microscopy, viscometry, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The solubility tests enabled a binder-classification into critically soluble (KE-60, Epikote 05390), strongly soluble (Grilon MS), partially soluble (D 2433E), and non-soluble (K-140) binder types. In subsequent mechanical and thermo-mechanical testing of resin-binder plates, the strongly soluble binder Grilon MS showed the best performance, followed by the nonsoluble binder K-140 and the partially soluble binder D 2433E. (...). POLYM. COMPOS., 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers
Glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) are the predominant materials used for wind turbine rotor blades. To manufacture blades in a vacuum-assisted resin infusion process (VARI), a binder is needed for fiber fixation and preform stability. Moreover, solubility and mechanical compatibility of the binder and the epoxy resin matrix are important parameters for processability and the mechanical properties of the composite. The present study therefore characterized and evaluated five chemically different binders with regard to their solubility in a rotor-blade-proven epoxy resin using microscopy, viscometry, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The solubility tests enabled a binder-classification into critically soluble (KE-60, Epikote 05390), strongly soluble (Grilon MS), partially soluble (D 2433E), and non-soluble (K-140) binder types. In subsequent mechanical and thermo-mechanical testing of resin-binder plates, the strongly soluble binder Grilon MS showed the best performance, followed by the nonsoluble binder K-140 and the partially soluble binder D 2433E. (...). POLYM. COMPOS., 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers
