Purdue team awarded $2.8M to study wind energy efficiencies
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Purdue University and its partners have received $2.8 million in federal funding to advance 3D printing of wind turbines.
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded the funding to Purdue’s Composites Manufacturing Simulation Center as its team establishes a project to automate the 3D printing process of large scale wind blades — the kind used at wind farms across the country.
Specifically, the project will seek to develop a modular design for manufacturing wind blades using carbon fiber and thermoplastic composites at a scale of 80 meters or longer.
Doing so could reduce the time needed to manufacture wind blades by at least 40%, researchers say. They also believe a successful project could enhance wind blade performance by 15%, reduce weight of the tools by 25%, and lower manufacturing costs by 35%.
The project, called Additive Manufacturing of Modular Tools with Integrated Heating for Large-Scale Wind Blade Manufacturing, is being led by Eduardo Barocio, director of Purdue’s Composites Additive Manufacturing and Simulation Industrial Consortium.
“The proposed program provides the foundation for automated manufacturing technology in wind blade tooling manufacture,” Barocio said in a university news release. “These same technologies can be applied to manufacturing of all the elements of the wind energy system and, as such, the program provides a pioneering development that can leverage technology within the United States for a major source of clean energy, wind.”
The team’s work will focus on seven wind turbine innovations ranging from automated 3D manufacturing to the study of new materials and heating and cooling technologies.
The Purdue project will work alongside industry partners including Thermwood Inc., TPI Composites Inc., Dassault Systèmes, Dimensional Innovations and Techmer PM.
The Purdue team was one of 13 projects across 10 states to receive Department of Energy funding. The federal department is awarding $30 million total to initiatives that seek to make wind energy more viable and effective through material design.
“These projects, alongside the Purdue program, will address the remaining challenges in wind turbine manufacturing,” said Byron Pipes, the executive director of Purdue’s Composites Manufacturing Simulation Center. “Successful demonstration of automation in the manufacture of alternative energy systems can enhance their wider use while sustaining the industry in the United States.”