Subcomponent Testing for Wind Turbine Blades

19721212

Abstract:
A subcomponent which represents a structural detail of a blade can be a cost-effective addition prior to full scale blade tests. Such a subcomponent can be used for various purposes, like material testing, modelling and validation and investigating the influence of manufacturing and repair methods.
A generic I-beam assembly is suggested, which can be tested in e.g. 3- and 4-point bending, as well as statically and in fatigue. Another, more generic subcomponent is a tubular specimen, which was used for obtaining a detailed description of adhesive properties without the effect of sharp edges or other local geometries at corners of the bonded specimens. A brief description of the experiments and results on these subcomponents is presented.
Keywords: wind turbine blade, subcomponent testing, bond line thickness