TY - CONF A1 - Schumacher, David A1 - Ou, D. A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Zscherpel, Uwe A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Wind turbine rotor blade testing by dual-energy laminography T2 - Proceedings of International Symposium on Digital Industrial Radiology and Computed Tomography – DIR2019 N2 - Modern wind turbine rotor blades consist of sandwich shell segments made from glass fiber reinforced polymers. During manufacturing, defects can arise which could lead to failure of the whole component under dynamic mechanical and thermal loads. Hence during operation defects can arise which, if detected, can be repaired locally and in-situ by applying repair patches instead of taking the whole rotor blade down and repair it remotely. This method is much more time and cost effective, since the shut-down time of the energy converter is limited to a minimum. These repair patches can, however, also lead to new defects if not applied optimally. Therefore, it is necessary to control the quality of the repair patches to ensure the best possible restoration of structural integrity of the component. As a rotor blade is an object with a large aspect ratio, X-ray laminography is predestined to provide 3D information of the objective volume. To enhance the amount of information gained from laminographic reconstruction, we use in this study a photon counting and energy discriminating X-ray detector and apply a material decomposition algorithm to the data. By inherently separating the incident spectra within the detection process into two distinct energy bins, the basis material decomposition can provide material resolved images. Choosing glass and epoxy resin as basis materials and numerically solving the inverse dual-energy equation system, the reconstructed laminographic datasets contain highly valuable information about the distribution of the basis materials within the structure. Furthermore, cross- artifacts arising from the limited angle of the projection data can be reduced by this method which allows to investigate structures that were hidden underneath the artefacts. T2 - International Symposium on Digital Industrial Radiology and Computed Tomography – DIR2019 CY - Fürth, Germany DA - 02.07.2019 KW - Laminography KW - Wind energy KW - Fiber reinforced polymer KW - Photon counting detector KW - Repair patch PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-484380 UR - https://www.dir2019.com/portals/dir2019/bb/Tu.3.A.1.pdf SN - 978-947971-06-0 SP - 1 EP - 13 AN - OPUS4-48438 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - The effect of fiber orientation mismatch on scarf joint damage mechanisms under fatigue load N2 - Wind turbine rotor blades commonly fail before their projected 20-year lifespan largely due to defects that originate during manufacturing and are propagated by operational fatigue and environmental conditions. The cost-intensive replacement outcomes lead to a high loss of earnings, and are one of the inhibitors of wind turbine production. A potential repair alternative to restoring the mechanical properties of such lightweight fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) structures is to locally patch these areas with scarf joints. This type of repair allows for a smoother load distribution across the joint, and is favored especially on structures where minor aerodynamic contour changes are key. The effects of such repairs on the structural integrity, however, is still largely unknown. Building upon an understanding of the static load failure mechanism of GFRP scarf joints, presented at the ICCS23 Joint Event in 2020, the influence of the fiber orientation mismatch between parent and repair materials of 1:50 scarf joints on the failure mechanism of monolithic glass FRP specimens under cyclic fatigue load were examined in this study. Specimens with various layups were produced with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process using biaxial E-glass non-crimp fabric (NCF). The patch layers were then joined directly to the parent structure with the VARI using biaxial E-glass NCF with half the areal weight of the parent side to allow for better drapability. This mimics the soft-to-hard patch style utilized in wind turbine blade shell field repairs. The specimens were tested under uniaxial fatigue load, during which they were periodically monitored for damage onset. A comparison of the +45/-45° and 0/90° layups allowed for an understanding of the role of a highly mismatching fiber orientation in the transition zone between parent and patch material on the failure mechanism of the scarf joint. In addition to the tensile strength and stiffness property recovery assessment, a grayscale analysis using in-situ camera images determined the damage state leading to failure in each region across the scarf joint, which varied in the parent material versus scarf joint region, providing insight to the critical regions in this composite structure under cyclic loading. T2 - ICCS24 - 24th International Conference on Composite Structures CY - Online meeting DA - 14.06.2021 KW - Glass fiber reinforced polymers KW - Scarf repairs KW - Damage mechanisms PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-52817 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Restoring structural integrity - localized repairs for wind turbine rotor blades N2 - The effect of localized repairs on the mechanical properties and thus the lifespan of wind turbine rotor blade shells is examined. T2 - SAMPE Symposium 2019 CY - Dresden, Germany DA - 06.02.2019 KW - Fatigue KW - Glass fiber reinforced polymers KW - Lightweight materials KW - Sandwich KW - Wind turbine blades PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-47443 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Restoring lightweight strength - Effect of localized repairs on the mechanical properties of composites sandwich structures N2 - As a type of high-performance composite material, glass-fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) are favored for the construction of wind turbine rotor blades due to their high specific strength and stiffness properties (Grasse et al, 2010). During the blade manufacturing process, however, imperfections are often introduced, then further propagated due to harsh environmental conditions and a variety of loads (Caminero et al, 2013; Trappe et al, 2018). This leads to failure significantly before their designed lifespan. Since replacement of entire blades can be a costly potential outcome, localized repairs of the damaged region to restore structural integrity and thus lengthen its lifespan can executed in the field by technicians accessing the blades directly by suspended roping. These methods involve replacing the lost load path with a new material that is joined to the parent structure. In recent years, considerable studies have been conducted to investigate the influence of different repair parameters on the stress distribution, ultimate strength, impact behavior, and residual stresses of bonded repaired structures [Caminero et al, 2013; Trappe et al, 2018; Shufeng et al, 2014; Harman and Rider, 2011; Ahn and Springer, 2000; Lekou and Vionis, 2002). However, there currently do not exist any standardized repair procedures for wind turbine rotor blades. Namely, there is a lack of understanding about the effects of the layup of various repair methods, especially on the damage mechanism and fatigue life of the shells of rotor blades (Caminero et al, 2013; Trappe et al, 2018). This work therefore aims to begin to enrich this knowledge gap by testing the influence of different variables among repair patches on the mechanical properties of sandwich composite structures. Manufactured with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process, the test specimens are produced as a GFRP structure to represent the outer shell portion of a wind turbine blade, then repaired with a scarf joint. Scarf repairs are favored as the most efficient of the common structural joints, as the removal of the damaged area with angled walls leads to a nearly uniform shear stress distribution along the bond surface and no eccentricity in the load distribution (Caminero et al, 2013; Lekou and Vionis, 2002; Siener, 1992). The performance of specific layup methods of repair patches, namely a large-to-small versus small-to-large scheme of repair layers, is studied with static and load-controlled fatigue testing, then compared to pristine test specimens as well as to each other in terms of mechanical property restoration. The transition layer between repair and parent material is especially of interest in the performance of the structure. Damage onset, crack development and eventual failure are monitored in-situ with non-destructive testing methods, including thermography with an infrared camera system and a 3D deformation analysis system, to develop a more robust understanding of the effects of these repair concept variables on wind turbine blade shell structures. T2 - Wind Energy Science Conference CY - Online Meeting DA - 25.05.2021 KW - Glass fiber reinforced polymers KW - Wind turbine blade shell structures KW - Scarf joint repair PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-52687 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Popiela, Bartosz A1 - Nielow, Dustin A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Restoration of structural integrity – Repairs for wind turbine blade shells N2 - Wind turbine rotor blade shells are manufactured as sandwich structures with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) due to the material’s high specific stiffness and strength. With a growing renewable energy industry and thereby a spread of wind energy farms, especially in offshore applications, the need to fully utilize turbines through their designed lifespan is becoming increasingly essential. However, due to imperfections during manufacturing, which are then propagated by harsh environmental conditions and a variety of loads, blades often fail before their projected lifespan. Thus, the need for localized repair patch methods for the outer shell portions of the blades has become of greater interest in recent years, as it is crucial to the optimal compromise between continuation of wind energy production, cost efficiency, and restoration of structural performance. To increase the understanding of the effect on the fatigue life of the rotor blades, this study tests localized repair patch methods and compares them to each other as well as to reference, non-repaired specimens. Manufactured with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion process, the shell test specimens are produced as a curved structure with glass FRP sandwiching a polyvinyl chloride foam core to best represent a portion of a rotor blade shell. Patch repairs are then introduced with varying layup techniques, and material properties are examined with cyclic fatigue tests. The intermediate scale test specimens allow for the observation of material as well as structural variables, namely of interest being the stiffness and strength restoration due to the repair patches. Damage onset, crack development, and eventual failure are monitored with in-situ non-destructive testing methods to develop a robust understanding of the effects of repair concepts. T2 - 5th International Conference on Smart Monitoring, Assessment and Rehabilitation of Civil Structures CY - Potsdam, Germany DA - 27.08.2019 KW - Wind turbine blade shells KW - Fiber reinforced polymers KW - Sandwich structures KW - Fatigue PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-48859 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Popiela, Bartosz A1 - Nielow, Dustin A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Restoration of structural integrity – a comparison of various repair concepts for wind turbine rotor blade shells T2 - SMAR 2019 - 5th International Conference on Smart Monitoring, Assessment and Rehabilitation of Civil Structures (conference proceedings) N2 - Localized patches are a cost- and time-effective method for repairing fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sandwich wind turbine rotor blade shells. To increase the understanding of their effect on the fatigue of the blades, this study examines the effect of various layup methods of localized repair patches on the structural integrity of composite sandwich structures. Manufactured with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process, the shell test specimens are produced as a curved structure with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) sandwiching a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam core. Patch repairs are then introduced with varying layup techniques, and material properties are examined with cyclic fatigue tests. The transition region between patch and parent material is studied in greater detail with finite element method (FEM) simulations, with a focus on the effect of fiber orientation mismatch. Damage onset, crack development, and eventual failure are monitored with in-situ non-destructive testing methods to develop a robust understanding of the effects of repair concepts on material stiffness and strength. T2 - SMAR 2019 - 5th International Conference on Smart Monitoring, Assessment and Rehabilitation of Civil Structures CY - Potsdam, Germany DA - 27.08.2019 KW - Lightweight materials KW - Glass fiber reinforced polymers KW - Sandwich KW - Wind turbine blades PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-482170 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - German Society for Non-Destructive Testing (DGZfP e.V.) AN - OPUS4-48217 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Prolonging structural integrity—Fatigue of scarf repairs for wind turbine blade shell applications JF - Composites Part A N2 - The influence of scarf repair variables on the mechanical properties of glass fiber reinforced polymer sandwich structures is examined for the application of wind turbine blade shell repairs. Reference shell specimens are tested under fully-reversed cyclic loading to understand the fatigue behavior of the sub-component structure within a range of in-service loads, to which shell specimens with a scarf joint repair are compared. A fatiguesuperior repair material is shown to improve the fatigue behavior of the repaired structures compared to the reference specimens. In separating layup and geometry, damage development is examined on the subcomponent scale for a structural understanding of a scarf repair using in-situ digital image correlation-based strain field measurements as well as passive thermography. Within scarf repair variables, the geometry is shown to play a larger role than layup in the fatigue performance of the repaired structure. KW - Polymer–matrix composites KW - Fatigue KW - Joints/joining PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2022.107419 SN - 1359-835X VL - 167 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-56942 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Localized repairs for wind turbine rotor blades N2 - The effect of localized repairs on the structural integrity and thus the lifespan of wind turbine rotor blade shells is examined. T2 - SAMPE Symposium 2020 CY - Kassel, Germany DA - 17.02.2020 KW - GFRP KW - Wind turbine blade shells KW - Scarf joint repairs KW - Sandwich PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-50480 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Trappe, Volker T1 - Fully-reversed fatigue behavior of scarf joint repairs for wind turbine blade shell applications N2 - Due to manufacturing imperfections which can propagate to damage under in-service loads, wind turbine rotor blades, made primarily of glass fiber reinforced polymers (GFRP), often fail significantly before their design life. To enable a quick and cost-effective return to service, localized repairs can be executed by technicians in the field, directly accessing the blades by suspended roping. Scarf joint repairs, shown to be highly efficient with a smooth load transition across angled joint walls and a restored aerodynamic profile, are the focus of this study. The damage mechanisms of these structures were examined under fully-reversed mechanical cyclic loading with a load ratio R = -1, which was made possible on the coupon scale by a custom designed anti-buckling support. The number of cycles to failure were compared across load levels. While the scarf joint ratio was held constant at 1:50, known from industry and literature to be a good compromise between restored mechanical properties and repair size, the layup sequence was varied between small-to-large and large-to-small. Hereby the effect of the presence of resin pockets and fiber orientation mismatch between the parent and repair structure on the failure mechanism as well as fatigue strength of ±45° GFRP scarf joint repair structures was studied. Strain development across the joint length was measured to assess stiffness degradation in addition to the fatigue strength recovery of scarf joint structures with respect to pristine reference specimens. Grayscale analysis was used to monitor the damage state leading to fracture across the specimens. Post-mortem fractography analysis with light microscopy described the global failure mechanisms as well as local damage distribution within the structure, all of which provided insight to critical variables in scarf joint GFRP structures under fully-reversed mechanical cyclic loading, allowing for the tailoring of such repairs on wind turbine blade shells for maximum restoration of service life. T2 - 20th European Conference on Composite Materials (ECCM20) CY - Lausanne, Switzerland DA - 26.06.2022 KW - Glass fiber reinforced polymers KW - Scarf repairs KW - Fatigue PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55638 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ghafafian, Carineh A1 - Trappe, Volker ED - Vassilopoulos, A. P. ED - Michaud, V. T1 - Fully-reversed fatigue behavior of scarf joint repairs for wind turbine blade shell applications T2 - Composites meet sustainability - Proceedings of the 20th European conference on composite materials, ECCM20, 26-30 June, 2022, Lausanne, Switzerland N2 - To enable a quick and cost-effective return to service for wind turbine blades, localized repairs can be executed by technicians in the field. Scarf repairs, shown to be highly efficient with a smooth load transition across angled joint walls and a restored aerodynamic profile, are the focus of this work. The failure mechanisms of these structures were examined under quasi-static tensile and fully-reversed cyclic loading. While the scarf ratio was held constant at 1:50, the repair layup was varied between large-to-small and small-to-large. The effect of the presence of resin pockets and the fiber orientation mismatch between parent and repair material on the restored strength of BIAX ±45° glass fiber reinforced polymer scarf joint structures was studied. T2 - 20th European Conference on Composite Materials CY - Lausanne, Switzerland DA - 26.06.2022 KW - Fatigue KW - Scarf repairs KW - Glass fiber reinforced polymers PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-569646 UR - https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/298799 SN - 978-2-9701614-0-0 VL - Vol. 5 - Applications and structures SP - 195 EP - 201 PB - Composite Construction Laboratory (CCLab) CY - Lausanne AN - OPUS4-56964 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -