Wind power industry is entering the era of lean .Every detail of the upgrade, for the significance of the cost of electricity costs are not to be underestimated .Breeze blade material, this easily overlooked details, but also contains to enhance the power generation, reduce fan cost Big article
Last year, Covestro joint industry partner of high-performance polymer material supplier successfully developed the world's first new high-performance polyurethane resin system fan blade of 1.5MW in China, which means it is possible to replace traditional epoxy resin with polyurethane on the blade material Following the 1.5MW polyurethane blade, KoSTA is currently trying out polyurethane blades for larger fans to promote the commercial application of polyurethane fan blades as soon as possible.
Li Qian
Looking for alternative materials has become an industry demand
Traditional epoxy materials have been widely used on wind turbine blades for more than 30 years and are considered to be mature and reliable technologies. However, with the development of low-wind wind power, the blades of wind turbines grow longer and longer. Epoxy resin blades Bottlenecks in price, technology and other aspects have emerged. "Dr. Li Qian, Asia Pacific R & D Director of Cosmetic Polyurethane Division recently said in an interview with this reporter.
Li Qian said that the lightweight and large-scale fan blades is the development trend, followed by the process requirements are also higher and higher.Also, with wind power benchmarking tariffs continue to decline, the era of wind power parity gradually approaching, cost pressures also prompted Industry looking for alternative ways to new materials.
Data shows that the cost of the blade accounts for about 20% -30% of the cost of the wind turbine and about 10% -15% of the cost of the wind farm, and if the blade can further reduce the cost under the premise of ensuring the performance, it will undoubtedly promote the wind power unit of kilowatt The cost of the decline, and ultimately help to achieve full life cycle wind power cost reduction.
The advantages of performance and economy are the key
Compared with epoxy resin, polyurethane material is more suitable for light-weight and large-scale trend.Polyurethane itself is not a new material, from the invention to 80 years of history.But, Covestro innovative use of polyurethane materials in the field of fan blades , Created a precedent for polyurethane blades.
Li Qian told reporters that the reason why choose polyurethane instead of epoxy resin used in fan blades, it is also based on its good performance and economic advantages.
First of all, the mechanical properties of the polyurethane material itself good.For example, the polyurethane resin has lower viscosity and better fluidity than the epoxy resin; polyurethane exothermic peak is lower than the epoxy resin, which can reduce the resin exothermic PVC foam The impact of the core material and polyurethane can be better with the carbon fiber combination.Thus, by optimizing the blade design, the use of polyurethane material can be made lighter and longer fan blades, resulting in higher power generation efficiency and reduce power generation costs.
Secondly, from the process point of view, polyurethane pouring and curing efficiency compared to epoxy resin is also greatly increased, shortening the manufacturing cycle. 'New era of just off the assembly line 2.2MW polyurethane blades, infusion can save 50% of the time, curing energy Save 40% of the time, thereby reducing labor costs and mold costs. "Li Qian said," When the temperature dropped to a certain extent, the polyurethane in the perfusion efficiency will have the extra advantage of the show. "
Currently, low-speed wind power and offshore wind power have become two hotspots of wind power development.Li Qian believes that, in addition to apply to low-speed wind turbines, the polyurethane material can also well meet the needs of offshore wind turbines. 'Offshore wind turbines usually require longer blades, Faced with higher wind speed, higher requirements for anti-corrosion performance, which makes the edge of polyurethane material more obvious advantages.
Commercial applications to be explored
However, in the current wind power market, more than 99% of the turbine blades still use traditional epoxy materials.How can polyurethane blades actually go from laboratory to commercial applications?
Wind power industry, large investment, high risk, the owners of new materials and new technologies will be more cautious application of the same time, the wind power industry with special emphasis on operating performance, the need to have the first person to eat crabs. 'Li Qian said,' the successful development of polyurethane blades In the past year, we are actively communicating with blade manufacturers, machine builders and even homeowners in an effort to promote the commercial application of polyurethane blades at an early date. "
Li Qian told reporters that due to the polyurethane material in the larger leaves have a more obvious alternative advantages, is expected in the need for larger blades of low-speed fans, polyurethane blades may be the first to market.
In fact, the introduction of new materials is not a simple material alternative, it needs to be closely matched with other supporting materials and various industries in the blade industry chain to finally get to the market and obtain user's approval.
As a leader in the application of wind energy polyurethane, Covestro has developed the technology of polyurethane materials in addition to the polyurethane blades. It has applied the paint system of tower and blade and the elastomer of submarine cable of wind turbines.
In Li Qian's view, the innovative application of polyurethane materials in the field of wind power will promote wind power to become a greener and more price-competitive clean energy source.