FABRICATION AND TESTING OF A LOW-COST WIND TURBINE BLADE USING BAMBOO REINFORCED RECYCLED PLASTIC

Abstract

Ghana’s energy generation mix has about 65% thermal component which comes with increased generating cost and substantial air pollution. Wind energy has been considered as a viable sustainable energy alternative in Ghana with extensive feasibility studies being done over the years to map out suitable zones for future projects. This study presents the fabrication of wind turbine blades using bamboo fibre reinforced with recycled plastic and its assessment for low-cost wind energy generation. Bamboo fibre extracted from raw bamboo was combined with processed recycled High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) to form the composite material in a proportion of 25% bamboo-fibre and 75% recycled HDPE. Conventional turbine blades and turbine blades made of the composite material were installed at the test site one at a time and tested under similar operating conditions. Results showed that the unit cost of energy for the bamboo-composite blade was 0.016 GHC/kWh whereas that for conventional blade was 0.018 GHC/kWh. Result obtained from Stress and deformation analysis showed that the convention wind turbine blade has slightly better strength than bamboo-plastic composite blade. The study showed that the reinforced bamboo-HDPE composite material possesses appreciable mechanical properties and also offers a cheaper alternative for wind turbine blade fabrication.