ryan barnhart - space frame blade technology

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Space Frame Development Program:

Funded by DOE (Phase I and Phase II SBIR grants) and WEI

Motivation - development of enabling technologies for the transportation of large wind turbine blades for land-based machines

Eliminate expensive and heavy shell core materials

Eliminate shell infusion-related quality issues

Reduce Large Machined Tooling & Major Part Size

Enable improved QC through elimination of blind bonds

Enable transportation of smaller blade sections with final in-field assembly

Improve reliability and MTBF


Conceptual Design & Feasibility

Study

DOE Phase IEngineering, Trade

Studies, & Commercialization

Potential

Advanced FEM

Development

10m Subsection Design &

Fabrication

34.5m Blade Engineering for 1.5MW Platforms

83m Blade Engineering

for 6MW Platforms

Detailed Engineering &

Prototype Fabrication

DOE Phase II

Successful Technology

DevelopmentDespiteLimited

Commercial Viability


• Elimination of structural shell technically feasible

• Space Frame yields little cost savings

- Cost savings from modularization > Space Frame

- High mass penalty to recover edgewise stiffness

- Significantly increased part count

• Hybrid solution may offer more benefits

- Reduction in cost & weight associated with shell core still

possible

• Component modularization could encourage offshoring

- Inherent consequence of modularization, not just Space

Frame