The document discusses potential materials for wind turbine blades including PVC, wood, fiberglass, and polyurethane reinforced with carbon nanotubes. PVC and wood blades are lighter but more brittle with shorter lifespans. Fiberglass provides strength but can break and crack easily. Polyurethane reinforced with carbon nanotubes is a stronger and lighter material that outperforms current resins, though it is heavier and more expensive than alternatives like PVC or wood.

1. Wind Turbine –
Materials of
its Blades

2. INTRODUCTION
• Blade is one of the most important parts for a
wind turbine system.
• Blades are required to preserve an optimum
cross section for aerodynamic efficiency to
generate the maximum torque to drive the
generators.
• Possible materials for blades include
PVC, wood, fiber glass, polyurethane
reinforced with carbon nanotubes

3. PVC

4. PVC wind turbine blade are becoming more
and more common for homemade domestic
wind turbines.
Advantage:
• Light weight
• Easy to install
• Material is easy to obtain
• Cheap
• Easy to work with

5. Disadvantage:
• Only applied in small wind turbines
• Brittle
• Weak after continued exposure to sun UV rays
• Short life-span
 in strong winds the flexibility of the PVC
blades is useful as it takes some of the energy
out of the wind preventing the wind turbine
generator form spinning too quickly and being
damaged.

6. WOOD

7. • Advantages:
Easy to make
Low cost
Good wood may increase the lifetime of the
blades.
• Disadvantages
Over time things tend to hit the blades which
in wood causes little nicks in the blades

9. • CNTs is a tougher and lighter material.
Explanation:It is substantially lighter and eight times tougher and
more durable than currrently used blade materials.
• Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) rank among the strongest and stiffest
materials.
• Ica Manas-Zloczower (Professor of Macromolecular Science and
Engineering) said that results of mechanical testing for the carbon
nanotubes reinforced polyurethane show that this material
outperforms the currently used resins for wind blades applications.
• Due to their remarkable properties, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are
considered to be among the most promising candidates for the
reinforcement of polymer matrices such as those used for wind
turbines.

11. Fiberglass is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by
fine fibers of glass.
Advantages:
• provides a high tensile strength - helping manufacturers to achieve larger
blades and higher energy output;
• corrosion resistance ;
• a shorter manufacturing time-a single mold can be built and used over and
over again to produce many blades relatively quickly;
• commercially available and affordable;
• lightweight.
Disadvantages:
• easily breaking and cracking;
• low quality.

13. • Advantages: commercially available, highly
durable,strong, slightly lighter than PVC, not
UV affected, long life compared to PVC or
wood, recyclable, improved strength and
rigidity, better sheer strength at mounting
points
• Disadvantages: relatively heavy, expensive