Strength and stiffness characterization and enhancement of a horizontal axis wind turbine blade using an experimental fatigue test bench

This article aims to evaluate the performance of a blade prototype made of composite materials in terms of stiffness and mechanical strength. In this purpose, series of load levels will be applied to the blade in the direction of flapwise and edgewise loading to characterize strength and stiffness of the structure which is degrades as a function of the loading rate and the number of cycles. A test bench has been designed and built in the laboratory to test a blade of 712 mm in length for fatigue. The results of this experiment will be used to assess the structural integrity of the blades during their manufacturing process.