Abstract:
Wind turbines are used to convert the kinetic energy of wind into
useful power. The wind turbine blades are fabricated using glass fiber-reinforced
composite materials. Wind turbine blades are complex section. In order to improve
the strength of the blades under varying loading conditions, spars are embedded in it.
The spars are fastened with the composite shells of the blades using bolted connections.
In order to affect this fastening, holes of appropriate size were drilled in the
composite laminates. Delamination is the major failure in composite blades which is
induced during drilling. Delamination is quantitatively measured using digital
means. A comparison between the conventional (FD) and adjusted (FDA) delamination
factors is presented. In order to effectively quantify the delamination, refined
delamination factor (FDR) is proposed. It is found that the proposed FDR predicts the`failure in a better manner when compared with predictive capabilities of FD as
well as FDA.
