Study of the Performance of Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites for Wind Turbine Blade Applications

The availability of some form of energy is essential for the human survival and social development. However, the way energy has been generated within the last century has brought forward the quest for the generation of energy without polluting the environment, which is nowadays considered to be the greatest global challenge. The materials used for wind turbine blades can be classified under this challenge of polluting the environment. One of the materials expected to reduce this problem is natural fiber reinforced composite (FRC). Thus, the focus of this paper was to evaluate the potential of different natural FRC materials for small wind turbine blade application. Eleven different natural fibers reinforced composite in epoxy resin were studied. A modified Halphin-Tsai semi-empirical model was used to compute the physical properties of the composites, since it has a good agreement with the experimental results. Stress, deformation, and weight of wind turbine blade under different loadings were analyzed aimed to search for a fiber type that may extend the life span of the blade. Finally, flap wise and edge wise, the longitudinal and torsional natural frequencies were computed numerically by using the finite element method in the Qblade software (QFEM) under different mode types and the effects were analysed. Upon comparing the results with a common composite material for wind turbine blade (E-glass/epoxy), it was observed that the selected natural fiber composites have equivalent and better mechanical performance. The environmental friendliness of natural fibers, i.e. biodegradability, constitutes their advantage as materials of wind turbine blades.