LARGE-SCALE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING (RTM) FOR HYDROELECTRIC TURBINE BLADES

Shailesh Alwekar, Pritesh Yeole, Cliff Herring, Bradley Richardson, Ahmed Arabi Hassen, Emily Morris, Uday Vaidya

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Large-scale additive manufacturing is an emerging technology for rapid tooling applications. The purpose of this study is to replace aluminum based hydroelectric turbine blades with composites to reduce weight and increase durability. The blades are used to generate electricity with only kinetic energy of the volume of water flowing through channel. The mold for fabricating the composite blades was manufactured at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) using Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system. The mold was printed using carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (CF-ABS). The printed mold surfaces were post processed through series of coating and polishing processes and then the mold was checked for vacuum integrity. The mold was utilized to produce glass fiber epoxy composite blades, that are 1-meter long using Flex/Lite-resin transfer molding (L-RTM). The layup comprised non-crimped stitched fiber and random chopped glass fiber. Degradation of the mold surface was evaluated after fabrication of 4th part by noncontact laser scanner. The work demonstrated proof-of-concept prototypes for a manufacturing repeatability, weight fraction and quality of the resulting part made through AM tooling. This paper will focus on the metal-to-composite conversion, AM tooling design, materials selection, and manufacturing feasibility.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationComposites and Advanced Materials Expo, CAMX 2021
PublisherThe Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX)
Pages1102-1112
Number of pages11
ISBN (Electronic)9781934551400
StatePublished - 2021
Event8th Annual Composites and Advanced Materials Expo, CAMX 2021 - Dallas, United States
Duration: Oct 19 2021Oct 21 2021

Publication series

NameComposites and Advanced Materials Expo, CAMX 2021

Conference

Conference8th Annual Composites and Advanced Materials Expo, CAMX 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityDallas
Period10/19/2110/21/21

Funding

Research sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC. We gratefully acknowledge the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), in Tennessee, USA for facilities and financial support. The authors gratefully acknowledge continuous support from Tru-Design LLC for their work on coatings, Techmer ES for their support on material development, Olin corporation for suppling the resin and Owens Corning for fiber support.

Keywords

  • Big Area Additive Manufacturing
  • FARO Arm laser scanner
  • Flex/Lite-resin transfer molding
  • Geomagic Control software
  • Tooling

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