JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #54 - January 2010 - 30

FEATURE “Wind Energy” Epoxy who intend to switch their processes to the new chemistry, plant by plant. This new solution is attracting great interest around the world and the chemical company will be supplying a number of customers by the end of the year 2010. These latent systems can be easily processed, thereby simplifying the whole production process. Below the line, this means higher quality, better process stability and a lower scrap rate. So far, depending on external factors such as temperature, it has been necessary to change between several curing agents. The new Baxxodur system also offers significant advantages here, because it can be used over a considerably wider range of temperatures. This means that the curing-agents do not have to be changed during the year. It also greatly simplifies stock control, since only a single curing agent needs to be kept in the warehouse. BASF is currently working with various rotor manufacturers in order to fine-tune for individual blade components. BASF is currently cooperating with various rotor blade manufacturers in order to finetune their production parameters for the new system for individual blade components. More information: www.baxxodur.com amines reacting with the epoxy groups to form a three-dimensional network. This reaction is dependent on the reaction temperature, but it can be enhanced by the use of additives such as accelerators. Many turbine manufacturers are now focusing on offshore plants, so they target the use of large blades in excess of 50 m length, in order to make the most of the more consistent wind out at sea. In the case of large structures such as the blade’s outer skin or spar cup, processors using infusion technology face a dilemma. The epoxy resin system needs to react slowly in order to completely fill the mould before it begins to gel, but also rapidly enough after heating so the mould can be made available quickly for the next blade. To reconcile this, BASF has developed a chemical route that starts slow and then speeds up, using “latent” systems. Here, some of the curing agents are thermally activated after passing a threshold temperature. BASF’s amines tested by customers for approval The new BASF systems are being tested for approval around the world, and the first rotors based on latent Baxxodur curing agents are already in use. BASF is qualified at various rotor manufacturers, Manufacturer SHFRP: still limited as a player According to the Global Wind 2008 report from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the Shanghai FRP Institute (SHFRP) has its job cut out for it. More than seventy percent of SHFRP’s business is now generated by the wind-energy sector (the remainder by the military). he SHFRP was created in 1960 to research, develop, industrialize and market innovative composite products. That objective also included wind energy, of course, but that sector has become so preponderant that the Institute’s future now depends on it. SHFRP is also in the situation where it is shifting from the status of an institute to that of a company subject to the whims of the market. As noted in the GWEC’s Global Wind 2008 report, the race for technology is unrelenting and the competition is stiff. T for its supply of epoxy resins. The company is also studying each step of the process attentively in order to develop technology that is competitive, and hopes to put out its own 1.5 MW blade in 2010. A demanding market SHFRP’s quantitative goal for 2010 is to produce 3,000 infusionmoulded blades using its two production sites, against about 2,500 produced in 2009. A 20% increase is a fairly ambitious goal, but still far too little to meet market expectations, which is the current priority. SHFRP certainly did not anticipate such a jump in the wind energy sector. Its total production capacity corresponds to about 9,000 MW, way below the capacity of the leading companies. Given the number of players in this seemingly limitless market, market concentration can’t be far off. To meet demand in satisfying conditions, it appears imperative to acquire more production capacity. Too many players either are too small or do not have a command of today’s technologies. More information: www.shfrp.com The race for technology The 40-metre, Class-3 1.5 MW blade is currently the front-running product, so acquiring a command of technology is imperative. SHFRP is making progress, but has a long way to go before it will be able to compete with the leading companies. Like the other Chinese players, it started out using imported technologies and materials. It is now trying to move gradually away from those, starting with a rigorous selection of new local suppliers capable of meeting the specifications. Along those lines, SHFRP is working with Swancor jec composites magazine / No54 January 2010

http://www.baxxodur.com http://www.shfrp.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #54 - January 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #54 - January 2010