Title: A critical review of materials and manufacturing techniques for small wind turbine blades

Authors: Suhaib Mohammed; Raghuram L. Naik

Addresses: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, SECAB Institute of Engineering and Technology, Vijayapura – 586101, Karnataka, India ' Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Basaveshwar Engineering College, Bagalkot – 587103, Karnataka, India

Abstract: Small wind turbines are a prominent form of renewable energy technology for decentralised power generation. The mass scale dissemination of this technology requires an increase in efficiency and reduction in cost, which are majorly governed by the design of rotor blades. The selection of blade material plays a vital role in designing low cost, lightweight and high strength small wind turbine blades. This paper reviews specific loading conditions for small wind turbines and requirements for the selection of blade materials. Further, various material alternatives and manufacturing techniques along with their advantages and disadvantages are presented. The comparative analysis of potential materials and manufacturing techniques employed for developing composite small wind turbine blades is carried out based on specific criteria enabling researchers to identify suitable blade material and manufacturing technique for small wind turbine applications.

Keywords: small wind blade; material selection; fibre reinforcement; thermoplastics; hybrid composites; manufacturing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMATEI.2022.126510

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation, 2022 Vol.13 No.4, pp.327 - 345

Received: 16 Nov 2021
Accepted: 11 Feb 2022
Published online: 27 Oct 2022 *

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