Glass Fibre Yarns From Recycled Wind Turbines
TPI Composites has moved to the second phase of development with the University of Tennessee Knoxville in the creation of glass fibre yarns from end-of-life wind blades. The completion of the second phase will create new opportunities for materials reclaimed from decommissioned blades.
The current challenge of recycled glass fibre is that applications for randomly oriented discontinuous fibre are generally limited to non-structural components or thermal insulation where the value is significantly lower than the cost of recovery. Steve Nolet, TPI’s Senior Director of Innovation and Technology said, “Phase I focused on using simple hand operated textile methods; after multiple trials with varying fibre length, twist rate, and mechanical testing we learned the importance of hybridization with synthetic polymer fibre.”
In Phase II, the University of Tennessee team use industrial textile manufacturing methods and equipment to scale the process and focus on ideal filament length, ratio of glass to synthetic fibre, and other process variables that optimise the properties of the recycled yarn. With additional scaling of prototype yarns, downstream processing including conversion to woven and non-woven broad goods or filament wound plates are accomplished. Generating material properties of different composite configurations will help identify applications appropriate for the recovered materials.
“The project plays a major role at the UT Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility, with the collaboration on composites recycling being an area of global importance,” says Dr. Uday Vaidya, UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair Professor and Chief Technology Officer for IACMI-The Composites Institute. “This project is a unique opportunity for UT graduate and undergraduate students to explore the science and engineering aspects of value-added recycled glass fibres for next generation sustainable solutions.”
