Gary D. Seidel, assistant professor of aerospace engineering in the College of Engineering atVirginia Tech developed a carbon nanotube-enhanced composite for structural health monitoring sensors to improve the resiliency of huge wind turbine blades.
Wind turbine blades enjoy a steady wind but can be damaged by gust-induced vibrations. Seidel proposes to create tiny sensor patches that can be selectively placed in key locations where it is anticipated that damage will start. The patches are made of the same base material as the blade but sprinkled with carbon nanotubes, resulting in a nanocomposite sensor which adds negligible weight to the structure.
The submicroscopic carbon nanotubes can be highly conductive, like invisible, extremely lightweight, electrical wires. Placing the highly conducting carbon nanotubes inside a polymer material makes the resulting nanocomposite patch's conductivity sensitive to deformation. As the material is deformed by a stress on the blade, the nanotubes shift, move closer together, and their conductivity jumps – one mechanism behind the phenomenon known as a piezoresistive response. The change in the nanocomposite conductivity sends a signal to the wind turbine control center, allowing the operator to then know which blade is stressed and should be turned off to prevent further damage to that turbine.
Seidel's focus is on assessing the sensing capabilities of the nanocomposite and building multiscale models for use in structural health monitoring software algorithms. His preliminary models have demonstrated that he can create nanocomposites that respond to stresses with conductivity changes.
Based on the mechanism behind the piezoresistive response of our nanocomposites, necessary tools will be created for nanocomposite sensor development and tailoring for the wind turbine blade application.
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