Full-scale structural tests enable us to monitor the mechanical response of the blades under various loading scenarios. Yet, these tests must be accompanied by numerical simulations so that the physical basis of the progressive damage development can be better interpreted and understood. In this work, finite element analysis is utilized to investigate the strength characteristics of an existing 5 m RÜZGEM composite wind turbine blade under extreme flapwise, edgewise and combined flapwise plus edgewise loading conditions. For this purpose, in addition to a linear buckling analysis, Puck's (2D) physically based phenomenological model is used for the progressive damage analysis of the blade. The 5 m RÜZGEM blade is found to exhibit sufficient resistance against buckling. However, Puck's damage model indicates that laminate failure plays a major role in the ultimate blade failure. Under extreme flapwise and combined load cases, the internal flange at the leading edge and the trailing edge are identified as the main damaged regions. Under edgewise loading, the leading edge close to the root is the failure region. When extreme load case is applied as a combination of edgewise and flapwise loading cases, less damage is observed compared to the pure flapwise loading case.
