IMPACT - Improved Adhesive ConnecTions for wind turbine blades

The aim of this collaborative effort between DTU Wind Energy (DTU), LM Wind Power (LM) and DNV GL is to demonstrate the benefits of a new adhesive connection technology for wind turbine blades.

The proposed technology increases blade reliability enabling a reduction of wind turbine blade operational and manufacturing costs, increasing annual energy production, and consequently contributing to the reduction of the levelized cost of wind energy.

Fatigue failure is the most common cause of failure of these connections caused by the repeatedly occurring wind and Gevity loads a blade experience. An accurate numerical production of the time until fatigue failure in adhesive joints occurs entails computationally expensive calculations. In this project a fatigue life prediction tool based on the DT structure analysis software BECAS is applied. The tool accounts for the influence of the time varying correlation between load components. As a result, both the instant of failure in time and the failure location in the blade are efficiently predicted with unprecedented accuracy.

The novel adhesive connection technology is defined by the ability to accurately predict and better understand the underlying mechanical phenomena to ultimately improve the exiting guidelines for adhesive connection design.