Materials for Wind Energy – course

This course will give the participant thorough knowledge of materials, structures and properties with special emphasis on the requirements in a wind turbine.

The participant receives an introduction to the materials used in wind turbines and the loads they are subjected to.

The focus in the course is on composites and metals. Furthermore, issues with manufacturing, predictions and measurements are addressed.

For the composites, the ability of tailoring, predicting and measuring the mechanical properties of non-crimp fabric composites are addressed.

For the metals, the properties of the most common steel types and the most common failure modes are addressed.

Learning objectives

After completing this course, the participant is able to:

• List, classify and explain the main requirements of the structural materials used in a wind turbine.
• Calculate simple load cases for selected sub-components.
• Describe the configuration of typical composite materials for wind turbines and their manufacturing process.
• Predict stiffness and strength of unidirectional composites.
• Describe a testing strategy for measurements of the governing mechanical properties of composites.
• Classify the different types of failure modes in metals, and describe ways to prevent them.
• Classify different forms of corrosion in metals, and describe ways to prevent them.
• Relate heat treatment and microstructure of steel.
• Describe the concept behind damage-tolerant materials.
• Predict the materials lifetime for dynamically loaded structures.
• Dimension the sub-components in a wind turbine based on materials properties