Development Of Multifunctional Nanocomposite Coatings For Wind Turbine Blades

Wind energy has been growing at a rate of 25 to 30% annually, with installations in the U.S. now exceeding 10,000 MW in generation capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association. The maintenances of wind turbines become a big issue and the optimization of the structural and aerodynamic properties of the blade is essential to the economic optimization of wind power production. The performance of the wind turbines can be significantly reduced by severely environmental conditions. Lightning strike seriously damages the blades, and results in accidents in which low voltage and control circuit breakdowns frequently occur in many wind farms. Vibrational damping is needed for the structural stability and dynamic response, position control, and durability of wind turbine blades. Surface erosion in desert, wind carrying large amounts of sands can erode the leading edge of a turbine blade and increase surface roughness, which deteriorate aerodynamic performance. In this paper, carbon nanofiber paper based nanocomposite coating was developed, which possessed excellent electrical conductivity, high damping ratio and good impact-friction resistance