A team from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has garnered an ACE Award for Composites Excellence by the American Composites Manufacturers Association, spotlighting their innovative work in greener composites design. Recognized at the tenth annual Composites and Advanced Materials Expo in San Diego, this prestigious accolade celebrates the team’s breakthrough in constructing a fully recyclable wind turbine blade tip, engineered to diminish its environmental footprint significantly.
The award-winning creation, a brainchild of the ORNL researchers, is said to not only leverage low-cost carbon fiber but also feature a conductive coating, both aimed to better equip the composite against lightning strikes. According to a statement by ORNL researcher Vipin Kumar, who spearheaded the project and obtained by ORNL, "This one award encompassed three different technologies from ORNL: We made the blade with ORNL’s low-cost carbon fiber, treated it with a conductive coating we developed and designed it to be 100% recyclable." This new design stands to revolutionize not only efficiency in energy capture but also sustainability in the wind turbine lifecycle.
As per ORNL, the innovative wind blade tip features a lightweight composite made from a recyclable thermoset epoxy resin, combined with multiple layers of glass and carbon fiber. The blade tip is lauded for being 41% lighter, contributing to heightened efficiency in generating electricity through wind energy. Notably, the materials can be fully reclaimed after the blade's standard service period, providing new possibilities for repurposing everything down to the polymer residue.
In the pursuit to seamlessly blend this green evolution with the current industry practices, researchers have adapted existing, standard equipment and methods to develop a final conductive coating for the blade's exterior. This additional feature bolsters the blade's resilience against lightning, which is a significant step forward for the sector. "This project demonstrates the versatility and potential of our low-cost carbon fiber to support the circular economy, in this case helping connect enhanced turbine blade performance with the environmental benefits of wind energy," Merlin Theodore, in charge of the Advanced Fiber Manufacturing group at ORNL and integral to the project, said according to ORNL.
The collective expertise at ORNL was crucial to the success of this venture, with a team composed of technicians, post-doctoral researchers, and skilled research professionals rallying under the project. Among the contributors were Subhabrata Saha, the technical lead, and team members Vlastimil Kunc, Ahmed Arabi Hassen, Josh Crabtree, Gary Vance, Jake Helton, Dexter Nelson, and Julian Charron, all operating under the funding from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office. Managed by UT-Battelle, ORNL continues to stand at the forefront of research innovation, as underscored by the Office of Science, a leading entity for physical sciences research.
