Analysis of 3-D flow pattern and curing during manufacturing of composite wind turbine blades

Abstract

A 3-D analysis of flow pattern and curing during VARTM manufacturing of a wind turbine blade is presented. The model was utilized in a case study to find the proper inlet arrangement that results in the shortest filling time. A sequential filling scheme was assumed, and different inlet gate arrangements and activation times were used in the study. It was observed that although increasing the number of inlet gates shortened the filling process, its effectiveness decreased monotonically. The observed filling issue was the presence of dry spots in the sandwich region at the bottom of the part. In the sandwich region, the core splits the flow into two flow fronts, one on the top and another at the bottom of the sandwich region. Case studies indicate that the slow-moving flow front beneath the core does not always merge with the faster-moving flow front on the top of the core.