TY - JOUR
T1 - Structural reuse of high end composite products
T2 - A design case study on wind turbine blades
AU - Joustra, Jelle
AU - Flipsen, Bas
AU - Balkenende, Ruud
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Composite materials, in particular fibre reinforced polymers, present a challenge when reaching their end of life. Current recycling processes are unable to capture the high-end material quality, thus challenging (re)use of composite materials in a Circular Economy. Structurally reusing segmented parts of end-of-life products as construction elements has been demonstrated to provide a promising alternative. However, reflection on the consequences for the initial design of composite products is still missing. This study investigates the effect of the original product design on the recovery and reuse of composite products, taking wind turbine blades as case material. Construction elements were cut from a decommissioned blade and reused in a design study. Observations from the recovery and design process were connected to decisions made in the original product design. The insights were discussed with experts from the field of blade design. This resulted in identification of design aspects that enable multiple lifecycles of the composite material as construction panels, if considered during initial product design.
AB - Composite materials, in particular fibre reinforced polymers, present a challenge when reaching their end of life. Current recycling processes are unable to capture the high-end material quality, thus challenging (re)use of composite materials in a Circular Economy. Structurally reusing segmented parts of end-of-life products as construction elements has been demonstrated to provide a promising alternative. However, reflection on the consequences for the initial design of composite products is still missing. This study investigates the effect of the original product design on the recovery and reuse of composite products, taking wind turbine blades as case material. Construction elements were cut from a decommissioned blade and reused in a design study. Observations from the recovery and design process were connected to decisions made in the original product design. The insights were discussed with experts from the field of blade design. This resulted in identification of design aspects that enable multiple lifecycles of the composite material as construction panels, if considered during initial product design.
KW - Circular economy
KW - Composite materials
KW - Design strategies
KW - Structural reuse
KW - Wind turbine blades
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100214165&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105393
DO - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105393
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85100214165
SN - 0921-3449
VL - 167
JO - Resources, Conservation and Recycling
JF - Resources, Conservation and Recycling
M1 - 105393
ER -