Beijing – Covestro has jointly developed the world’s largest PU wind turbine blades, working with Chinese wind turbine maker Goldwind and blade manufacturer LZ Blades.
The 64.2m long blade has its spar cap, shear web and shell all made through polyurethane perfusion. This is a first in the global wind turbine industry, said Covestro.
The blade has passed static loading and dynamic fatigue tests for long-term reliability, and will begin small batch manufacturing by the end of the year.
Compared with epoxy, polyurethane resin has lower viscosity, a shorter perfusion time and no need for post curing. It will markedly raise production efficiency and make the manufacturers more competitive.
‘The outstanding performance of polyurethane resin is once again proved in this trial production,’ said Li Qian, Asia Pacific vice president of R&D for the polyurethanes business at Covestro.
The company and Goldwind will further their partnership to develop bigger polyurethane-based blades used in offshore wind farms.
