Covestro, Goldwind and LZ Blades jointly produced the world’s first 64.2-meter-long rotor blade for wind turbines that is made entirely of polyurethane. The project marks the beginning of a new generation of longer and stronger blades for the wind power industry.
Materials manufacturer Covestro successfully developed the world’s first 64.2-meter wind turbine blade made completely of polyurethane. The blade is made jointly with Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind, and wind blade manufacturer LZ Blades.
The full polyurethane wind turbine blade, from the spar cap to the shear web and the shell, is made entirely of polyurethane infusion resin. Extensive static and dynamic fatigue tests are being carried out to evaluate the durability of the wind turbine blade before small-scale production commences in 2020.
Mechanical properties
Test results showed that the polyurethane resin displays better mechanical properties compared with traditional epoxy resin. The polyurethane resin does not require post-curing and has a lower viscosity and faster infusion speed. In the end, the solution with the polyurethane resin is more cost competitive than the one with the epoxy resin.
In addition, Goldwind has optimized the structural design of the blade. Giving better play to the advantages of polyurethane’s mechanical properties and infusion speed and ensuring the smooth production of the blade.
With the rapid development of the wind power industry, larger wind turbine blades have become increasingly popular in the industry. Resulting in higher requirements for various aspects of wind turbine manufacturing, including the infusion resin.
