Structural Safety of CFRP Sandwich Wind Turbine Blade Struck by Lightning Impact

Abstract

CFRPs have been used for main material of large scale wind turbine blades. However, there are some fears of damage in the thickness direction of CFRP laminates caused by impact loads because of short of fibers. In this study, the artificial lightning impact tests were carried out to clarify the influence of lightning impact to the CFRP sandwich wind turbine blade, and their damages were measured with an ultrasonic detection apparatus. Furthermore,the impulse hammer tests, the bending tests and the FEM analyses for the CFRP sandwich wind turbine blades were conducted, and their results before and after the artificial lightning impulse test were compared. Finally, the structural safety of the CFRP sandwich wind turbine blade received the lightning impact under centrifugal force was evaluated by the FEM results.