Bayer develops polyurethane-based composite for large windmill blades

The Baydur resin infusion polyurethane was developed in response to the wind power industry's move toward developing and manufacturing longer, larger and more productive wind blades. According to research carried out by Bayer, it outperformed traditional epoxy- and vinyl-ester-based composite samples in terms of tensile fatigue, interlaminar fracture toughness testing and fatigue crack growth testing. It was also said to exhibit faster demould than resins currently used in wind turbine blade manufacture and contain low, or no, volatile organic compounds. Bayer says the new polyurethane systems have already been developed and adapted to current large blade manufacturing processes and retrofitted into existing designs at minimal cost.