Stress analysis of glass fibre reinforced composites used in wind turbines

Wind turbines transform kinetic energy in the wind into electrical energy. Glass fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite (GFRP) have seen to be the best option for the wind turbines blades due to their high impact strength, light weight and high strength to weight ratio, etc. The objective of this of this paper is to study and analyze the mechanical behavior of GFRP composite specimen subjected to three point flexural loading conditions. GFRP was modeled in ANSYS using SHELL 91element. Loading conditions were simulated and results were recorded. GFRP specimens were fabricated as per ASTM D790 dimensions using hand lay‐up process and subjected to three point loading conditions in Instron material testing machine and results were recorded. Simulation results were validated with the experimental results. Study confirms that defining matrix and fiber bonding properties in SHELL 91 element may lead to good agreement between the simulation and experimental results