Towards tURbine Blade production with zero waste

>10000 wind turbine blades (WTBs) were installed in Europe in 2019, and the largest are >100 m long. Yet the manufacturing methods have not changed significantly since the 1970s, with little or no NDT or in-line control, leading to high defect, repair and scrap rates. TURB0 will reduce defects and improve repair strategies in WTB composites and coatings.

-Improved composite production processes: By using the latest simulation techniques to avoid defect formation and understand how defects affect structural integrity.

-In-line NDT: Combining three cutting-edge NDT technologies (dielectric, wireless, sensor-less) for the first large scale in-line in situ composite production monitoring.

-Sub-surface WTB coating inspection: Currently coatings only undergo visual surface inspection or destructive testing. TURB0 will combine ultrasound and mid-IR OCT for the most detailed coating assessment ever performed.

-Digital twin and data warehouse: Production equipment, monitoring and in-line NDT data will be combined to establish a digital twin for real-time analysis of production. This has never been attempted for a large-scale composite part. It will populate a data warehouse accessible from multiple production sites.

-In-line system control: Using the digital twin, a ML-based algorithm will provide closed-loop process control to minimise defect formation and waste and optimise process efficiency.

-Automated repair strategy: The digital twin enables a ML analysis of defect severity in composites, with automated strategies to reduce repairs by 90 % and increase recycling of off-cuts.

-Full-scale demo: A demo on a full size >80 m WTB section will be performed at the SGRE factory in Aalborg.

-Quantified sustainability improvements: including life cycle analysis (LCA), social LCA and circular economy assessments to quantify environmental and socioeconomic benefits.

-Dissemination and exploitation activity: includes a powerful Advisory Board, training, standards and business plan.