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New wind turbine design

apdst said:
Have you thought aluminum? It's more durable and can be refurbished.

As far as blades go, the fiberglass blades on commercial windmills cost a **** load, can't be recycled and can only be repaired and refurbished up to a point.
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Steel is cheaper. The whole thing is designed to be as basic cheap as possible. Weight is not an issue so i would expect to see steel used but....

And yes the existing windmill types are just bad in so many ways.
 
Tim the plumber said:
Steel is cheaper. The whole thing is designed to be as basic cheap as possible. Weight is not an issue so i would expect to see steel used but....

And yes the existing windmill types are just bad in so many ways.
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Steel is heavier and it deteriorates faster than aluminum. That IMO, disqualify steel from the git-go.
 
apdst said:
Steel is heavier and it deteriorates faster than aluminum. That IMO, disqualify steel from the git-go.
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I think the cost difference would come down in favor of steel.
A good steel roof can last 50 years, or longer, and if the steel is protected from the direct elements, could last for centuries.
 
longview said:
I think the cost difference would come down in favor of steel.
A good steel roof can last 50 years, or longer, and if the steel is protected from the direct elements, could last for centuries.
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Even if you could get that kind of life out of steel components, the weight would still be counter productive.
 
apdst said:
Even if you could get that kind of life out of steel components, the weight would still be counter productive.
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We are talking about the feedhorn, it's only movement is to face into the wind.
 
apdst said:
Even if you could get that kind of life out of steel components, the weight would still be counter productive.
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The cowl or feed horn, as Longview calls it (good name), and the exit from the turbine need to be a bit heavy rather than light as there is always the worry that a thin skinned shed sticking up into the wind on a windy hill top might just blow away.
 
apdst said:
Have you thought aluminum? It's more durable and can be refurbished.

As far as blades go, the fiberglass blades on commercial windmills cost a **** load, can't be recycled and can only be repaired and refurbished up to a point.
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Aluminum gets stress cracks easier unless you buy an expensive alloy.
 
Lord of Planar said:
Aluminum gets stress cracks easier unless you buy an expensive alloy.
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It's still tougher than fiber glass and can be fixed easier and cheaper. It's also recyclable. Europe is current dealing with the problen of what to do with used windmill blades.
 
apdst said:
It's still tougher than fiber glass and can be fixed easier and cheaper. It's also recyclable. Europe is current dealing with the problen of what to do with used windmill blades.
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I don't think it would handle the constant flexing very well.
 
apdst said:
It's still tougher than fiber glass and can be fixed easier and cheaper. It's also recyclable. Europe is current dealing with the problen of what to do with used windmill blades.
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They must be dealing with it very quietly. I can't find any info. Perhaps you could give a link to your source?
 
apdst said:
https://johnosullivan.livejournal.com/37790.html
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From the comments on that apparently uninformed article:

"Well there is a little bit wrong here in one of the problems that is noted in this article. Windmill blades can be recycled and the equipment is available now for a very reasonable cost. ECO-WOLF,INC. manufactures equipment to recycle composite materials such as fiberglass, natural fibers, glass and other materials. The problem at this point is not the material so much as a lack of a pipeline as exists for cans and plastic bottles. The ECO-WOLF,INC system makes it possible for manufacturers of fiberglass and other composite products to take scrap material and recycle it right back into their product without burning or adding any chemicals. The recycled material is put back into the manufacturing loop at the factory level and can also use outside sourced material to reduce cost by replacing between 30% to 100% virgin glass depending on the method and product. There may be many problems with windmills but the recycling of the blades is not one of them. Almost any web search for recycling fiberglass will turn up ECO-WOLF,INC. web page or pages related to the company. Lets get going on the recycled fiberglass and composite pipeline so that the landfills are helped and the material costs of composite products can be reduced."
 
Surface Detail said:
From the comments on that apparently uninformed article:

"Well there is a little bit wrong here in one of the problems that is noted in this article. Windmill blades can be recycled and the equipment is available now for a very reasonable cost. ECO-WOLF,INC. manufactures equipment to recycle composite materials such as fiberglass, natural fibers, glass and other materials. The problem at this point is not the material so much as a lack of a pipeline as exists for cans and plastic bottles. The ECO-WOLF,INC system makes it possible for manufacturers of fiberglass and other composite products to take scrap material and recycle it right back into their product without burning or adding any chemicals. The recycled material is put back into the manufacturing loop at the factory level and can also use outside sourced material to reduce cost by replacing between 30% to 100% virgin glass depending on the method and product. There may be many problems with windmills but the recycling of the blades is not one of them. Almost any web search for recycling fiberglass will turn up ECO-WOLF,INC. web page or pages related to the company. Lets get going on the recycled fiberglass and composite pipeline so that the landfills are helped and the material costs of composite products can be reduced."
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It's pretty much a known fact that fiberglass can't be recycled.

Once the blades are ****ed beyond all repair, they can't be used for anything else. That's why I think aluminum would be a good route, for the smaller windmills, anyway. It has a longer life span, can sustained more stress, can be repaired cheaper and can be recycled.
 
apdst said:
You mean fiberglass?
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Fiberglass would be a good material. Inexpensive aluminum would not. It would have to be an expensive aluminum alloy to handle the constant irregular stress, without developing catastrophic stress fractures.
 
Surface Detail said:
From the comments on that apparently uninformed article:

"Well there is a little bit wrong here in one of the problems that is noted in this article. Windmill blades can be recycled and the equipment is available now for a very reasonable cost. ECO-WOLF,INC. manufactures equipment to recycle composite materials such as fiberglass, natural fibers, glass and other materials. The problem at this point is not the material so much as a lack of a pipeline as exists for cans and plastic bottles. The ECO-WOLF,INC system makes it possible for manufacturers of fiberglass and other composite products to take scrap material and recycle it right back into their product without burning or adding any chemicals. The recycled material is put back into the manufacturing loop at the factory level and can also use outside sourced material to reduce cost by replacing between 30% to 100% virgin glass depending on the method and product. There may be many problems with windmills but the recycling of the blades is not one of them. Almost any web search for recycling fiberglass will turn up ECO-WOLF,INC. web page or pages related to the company. Lets get going on the recycled fiberglass and composite pipeline so that the landfills are helped and the material costs of composite products can be reduced."
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You are apparently uninformed in that carbon fiber is not fiberglass.
 
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