Estudo comparativo de pás para aerogeradores de grande porte fabricadas em materiais compósitos reforçadas com fibra de carbono ou fibra de vidro

The research and development of wind turbine blades are essential to keep pace with worldwide growth in the renewable energy sector. Although currently blades are typically produced using glass fiber reinforced composite materials, the tendency for larger size blades, particularly for offshore applications, has increased the interest on carbon fiber reinforced composites because of the potential for increased stiffness and weight reduction. In this study a model of blade designed for large generators (5 MW) was studied on a small scale. A numerical simulation was performed to determine the aerodynamic loading using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. Two blades were then designed and manufactured using epoxy matrix composites: one reinforced with glass fibers and the other with carbon fibers. For the structural calculations, maximum stress failure criterion was adopted. The blades were manufactured by Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM), typical for this type of component. A weight comparison of the two blades was performed and the weight of the carbon fiber blade was approximately 45% of the weight of the fiberglass reinforced blade. Static bending tests were carried out on the blades for various percentages of the design load and deflections measurements were compared with the values obtained from finite element simulations. A good agreement was observed between the measured and calculated deflections. In summary, the results of this study confirm that the low density combined with high mechanical properties of carbon fibers are particularly attractive for the production of large size wind turbine blades

Avaliação de concreto com adição de fibras de PET submetido a altas temperaturas

The concrete for centuries constituted an essential structural element in the construction industry due to its relative ease of forming, before the weather durability, low cost, its lower maintenance compared to other materials such as steel. However, when the concrete is exposed to high temperatures tends to lose its mechanical characteristics, and may even result in loss of section, which undermines the stability and mechanical strength of structural elements. The pathologies resulting from exposure to elevated temperatures ranging from cracks, pops up chipping explosives (spalling). Recently, the technology of concrete is closely related to the study of its microstructure. The use of fibers added to concrete has been revealed as a solution to increase the mechanical strength of the concrete, it acts directly on the distribution of efforts to act in the play within the microstructure. In this work we used recycled PET fibers embedded in concrete with 15x2mm fck = 30MPa, water/cement ratio of 0.46, in works made for verification of mechanical strength of this mixture submitted to high temperature. The specimens of concrete with addition of PET fibers were tested after exposure to temperatures: ambient (30ºC), 100°C, 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, 600°C and 900°C. It was found that the concrete loses significant strength when exposed to temperatures above 300°C, however the use of fiber PET may delay the risk of collapse of structures for the formation of a network of channels that facilitate the escape of vapor 'water, reducing the pore pressure inside the structural element

Efeitos da radiação uv, temperatura e vapor aquecido nos compósitos poliméricos: monitoramento, instabilidade estrutural e fratura

The application of composite materials and in particular the fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) has gradually conquered space from the so called conventional materials. However, challenges have arisen when their application occurs in equipment and mechanical structures which will be exposed to harsh environmental conditions, especially when there is the influence of environmental degradation due to temperature, UV radiation and moisture in the mechanical performance of these structures, causing irreversible structural damage such as loss of dimensional stability, interfacial degradation, loss of mass, loss of structural properties and changes in the damage mechanism. In this context, the objective of this thesis is the development of a process for monitoring and modeling structural degradation, and the study of the physical and mechanical properties in FRP when in the presence of adverse environmental conditions (ageing). The mechanism of ageing is characterized by controlled environmental conditions of heated steam and ultraviolet radiation. For the research, it was necessary to develop three polymer composites. The first was a lamina of polyester resin reinforced with a short glass-E fiber mat (representing the layer exposed to ageing), and the other two were laminates, both of seven layers of reinforcement, one being made up only of short fibers of glass-E, and the other a hybrid type reinforced with fibers of glass-E/ fibers of curaua. It should be noted that the two laminates have the lamina of short glass-E fibers as a layer of the ageing process incidence. The specimens were removed from the composites mentioned and submitted to environmental ageing accelerated by an ageing chamber. To study the monitoring and modeling of degradation, the ageing cycles to which the lamina was exposed were: alternating cycles of UV radiation and heated steam, a cycle only of UV radiation and a cycle only of heated steam, for a period defined by norm. The laminates have already undergone only the alternating cycle of UV and heated steam. At the end of the exposure period the specimens were subjected to a structural stability assessment by means of the developed measurement of thickness variation technique (MTVT) and the measurement of mass variation technique (MMVT). Then they were subjected to the mechanical tests of uniaxial tension for the lamina and all the laminates, besides the bending test on three points for the laminates. This study was followed by characterization of the fracture and the surface degradation. Finally, a model was developed for the composites called Ageing Zone Diagram (AZD) for monitoring and predicting the tensile strength after the ageing processes. From the results it was observed that the process of degradation occurs Abstract Raimundo Nonato Barbosa Felipe xiv differently for each composite studied, although all were affected in certain way and that the most aggressive ageing process was that of UV radiation, and that the hybrid laminated fibers of glass-E/curaua composite was most affected in its mechanical properties

Estudo do comportamento mecânico de estruturas de solo-cimento reforçado com fibras de coco e hastes de bambu

In this work the use of coconut fiber (coir) and bamboo shafts as reinforcement of soil-cement was studied, in order to obtain an alternative material to make stakes for fences in rural properties. The main objective was to study the effect of the addition of reinforcement to the soil-cement matrix. The effect of humidity on the mechanical properties was also analyzed. The soil-cement mortar was composed by a mixture, in equal parts, of soil and river sand, 14% in weight of cement and 10 % in weight of water. As reinforcement, different combinations of (a) coconut fiber with 15 mm mean length (0,3 %, 0,6 % and 1,2 % in weight) and (b) bamboo shafts, also in crescent quantities (2, 4 and 8 shafts per specimen) were used. For each combination 6 specimens were made and these were submitted to three point flexural test after 28 days of cure. In order to evaluate the effect of humidity, 1 specimen from each of the coconut fiber reinforced combination was immersed in water 24 hours prior to flexural test. The results of the tests carried out indicated that the addition of the reinforcement affected negatively the mechanical resistance and, on the other hand, increased the tenacity and the ductility of the material.

Estudo comparativo de pás para aerogeradores de grande porte fabricadas em materiais compósitos reforçadas com fibra de carbono ou fibra de vidro

The research and development of wind turbine blades are essential to keep pace with worldwide growth in the renewable energy sector. Although currently blades are typically produced using glass fiber reinforced composite materials, the tendency for larger size blades, particularly for offshore applications, has increased the interest on carbon fiber reinforced composites because of the potential for increased stiffness and weight reduction. In this study a model of blade designed for large generators (5 MW) was studied on a small scale. A numerical simulation was performed to determine the aerodynamic loading using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. Two blades were then designed and manufactured using epoxy matrix composites: one reinforced with glass fibers and the other with carbon fibers. For the structural calculations, maximum stress failure criterion was adopted. The blades were manufactured by Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM), typical for this type of component. A weight comparison of the two blades was performed and the weight of the carbon fiber blade was approximately 45% of the weight of the fiberglass reinforced blade. Static bending tests were carried out on the blades for various percentages of the design load and deflections measurements were compared with the values obtained from finite element simulations. A good agreement was observed between the measured and calculated deflections. In summary, the results of this study confirm that the low density combined with high mechanical properties of carbon fibers are particularly attractive for the production of large size wind turbine blades