Grant: Engage Grants Program

The objective of the proposed R&D project is to contribute our expertise in finite element analysis ofcomposite materials to Frontier Power Systems in the design validation and improvement phases of their newwind turbine blade. In the past few years, Frontier Power Systems has invested much effort in the developmentof a medium-sized wind turbine targeted to the rapidly emerging micro-grid market. Fontier and its academicpartner, École de technologie supérieure, recently designed a 24.4 m rotor intended for its 100 kW windplatform. This new blade will bring Frontier's technology up to the standards employed in modernmedium-sized wind turbines. The rotor will be fabricated in PEI, therefore contributing to the creation of alocal expertise in composite structure fabrication.Turbine blades have a complex shape and need to be as lightweight as possible while resisting service loads.Composites are the materials of choice for these blades; they are lightweight, easily processed into complexshapes and have good, tailorable, mechanical properties. However, composites have orthotropic properties(properties that vary with orientation) and the stress levels within the blade components are not easilypredicted. The proposed project consists in the development of a high-precision finite element model of theturbine blade to be used as a tool to support the final evaluation of Frontier's new blade structural performancebefore it enters the market. This model will be validated against experimental tests, will serve to predict theblade's reaction to a variety of loadings, and will subsequently be used to optimize the blade design in order tomake Frontier's system a leader on the medium-size turbine market.