Danish Centre for Composite Structures and Materials for Wind Turbines (DCCSM)

The Danish Council for Strategic Research’s Programme Commission on Energy and Environment has granted funding of DKK 38.0 million for the establishment of the Danish Centre for Composite Structures and Materials for Wind Turbines (DCCSM).

 
Wind turbine blades are usually made from composite materials such as glass fibre and carbon fibre and are designed to last for at least 20 years. During this period, they are exposed to fierce weather conditions, including gale-force winds. Developments are moving in the direction of larger and more efficient wind turbines, and they are being sited offshore, which makes servicing more expensive and challenging. This calls for very reliable wind turbines with as few stoppages as possible.

Understanding damage evolution
The structures and components which make up each wind turbine must be able to withstand minor damage without necessarily causing stoppages. It is envisioned that future wind turbines will be fitted with a range of sensors which can detect any damage as early as possible so that parts can be repaired or replaced before the wind turbine suffers structural failure. This is particularly true of the blades; these are gigantic rotating parts which on the newest wind turbines measure up to 60 metres in length.

Wind turbine blades can suffer damage ranging from microscopic cracks to metre-long fractures. They develop from defects stemming from the manufacturing process. DCCSM will therefore develop new experimental and modelling methods covering everything from microscale defects to cracks that are several metres long. The idea is to improve our understanding of what make defects develop into major cracks which can cause the wind turbine to fail. The aim is optimisation at various length scales.

Can a blade safely be left to rotate?
The Centre will focus on the development of experimental methods (better characterisation and better modelling tools) at all relevant lenght scales. New experimental methods will be developed for characterising material properties that control damage evolution and crack growth. New models, accounting for defects, will be developed for the prediction of the evolution of damage and cracks.The greatest scientific challenge concerns the coupling of models at different length scales.

Armed with such knowledge, manufacturers will be able to design lighter and stronger wind turbine blades with built-in sensors which will detect damage developing in the blade. Such analysis tools can be used to predict the strength of a wind turbine blade which has suffered damage and predict its remaining useful life. It will provide a valuable basis for making the right decisions. 

The plan is also to use the centre as a unifying entity for strengthening the research environments within composite structures and materials for wind turbines in Denmark, and will include for example the coordination and launch of future research projects.

Project partners:

  • Risø DTU (Materials Research Division & Wind Energy Division)
  • DTU Mechanical Engineering 
  • Department of Mechanical Engineering at Aalborg University 
  • DTU Civil Engineering 
  • DTU Nanotech 
  • DTU Mathematics 
  • Siemens Wind Power 
  • LM Glasfiber 
  • Fiberline Composites 
  • Bach Composite Industry

Total budget: DKK 79,6 million including a grant from the Danish Council for Strategic Research of DKK 38 million (Grant no. 09-067212).

The project plans to train at least 20 PhD students and 3 postdocs and will run from 2010 until 2017.

The Centre leader is Head of Programme, PhD Bent F. Sørensen, Risø DTU. The assistant Centre leader is Associate Professor, PhD Christian Berggreen, DTU Mechanical Engineering.

 

Page updated  by   22.11.2011


Bent F. Sørensen
Head of Program
Materials Research (AFM)
Dir tel+45 46775806