High-strength thermoplastic foam helps the offshore wind turbines succeed in "slimming down"

Under the background that offshore wind power has entered the stage of large-scale development, the construction of offshore wind farms in China has also begun. In terms of offshore wind power, the offshore wind energy resources available on the eastern coast of China amount to approximately 750 million kilowatts. As offshore wind turbines gradually become large, transportation, assembly, disassembly and disposal of such large rotor blades have become a major problem for operators.

     Recently, Fraunhofer researchers and industry experts have developed high-durability thermoplastic foams and composites that not only reduce the weight of the blades but also make them recyclable. Due to its special properties, the new material is also suitable for other lightweight components in the automotive and other industries.

At present, the rotor blades of wind generators are mainly hand-made thermosetting resin systems. However, due to the difficulty in melting the material of the system, the difficulty in material recovery is caused. The best case is also to recycle particulate thermoset plastic waste for some simple applications.

Florian Rapp, project coordinator of Fraunhofer ICT, said: “In the WALiD project, we are looking for a brand new blade design. We are implementing the conversion of material categories and the first use of thermoplastic rotor blades. Thermoplastic meltability It helps us to use the automatic production equipment to deal with effectively.” Their goal is to separate the glass and carbon fiber to realize the reuse of the thermoplastic matrix material.