• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.66-75
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• 2018

In this paper, a lightweight design of the spar cap of 2MW wind turbine blade was carried out using the ply reduction ratio (PRR) and CFRP with a trade-off study. The spar cap is one of the most critical factor in determining the mechanical performance of the blade. Tsai-Wu and Puck fracture theory were used to determine the fracture. As a result, the CFRP composite material could be lighter in terms of weight by about 30% than GFRP composite material under the same conditions. Based on the analytical results, we derive the optimal value of the laminate thickness of the composite material and present the structural performance improvement and the lightweight design result.