Collaborative US - Ireland: Reuse and Recycling of Decommissioned Composite Material Wind Turbine Blades

该研究项目的提案是根据美国-爱尔兰三方计划提交的，该计划支持美国、爱尔兰共和国和北方爱尔兰的研究人员之间的合作研究。本研究项目的目的是建立一种方法，比较可持续的寿命结束后再利用和回收战略的风力涡轮机叶片的复合材料。 目前正在利用地理信息科学平台以及环境、经济和社会生命周期评估来制定这一方法。在过去15年中，风能技术的非常快速的增长导致了用于风力涡轮机叶片的不可生物降解的热固性纤维增强聚合物（FRP）复合材料的量的相应快速增长。这个研究项目背后的假设是，可以找到再利用和回收策略，以防止环境和社会上令人不快和不可持续的填埋和焚烧处理方法。 北方爱尔兰和爱尔兰共和国被用作这项研究的试验基地。 正在使用来自桑迪亚国家实验室的涡轮机叶片的数值模型，并正在对捐赠的涡轮机叶片进行物理试验。来自纽约城市学院、格鲁吉亚理工学院、爱尔兰科克大学和北方尔兰爱尔兰贝尔法斯特女王大学的一组研究人员正在进行这项研究项目。该研究分四个部分进行，其知识重点如下：（1）风能-退役风力涡轮机叶片再利用、再循环和处置方案的社会、环境和经济可持续性。(2)建筑环境设计-在叶片特性和潜在再利用场地高度受限的情况下，设计退役风力涡轮机叶片的建筑和工程结构及产品。(3)结构力学-了解风力叶片复合材料在其使用寿命结束时的剩余特性，再利用结构或产品及其结构设计的适当载荷情况，以及（4）地理信息科学（GIS）-风力叶片再利用和回收的开放式GIS，包含嵌入式再利用设计选项及其环境，经济和社会影响，用于后续网络分析。预计在许多科学领域将取得进展，包括再利用和回收的社会、环境和经济建模、生命周期评估、概念设计、参数建模、纤维增强聚合物复合材料结构设计、复合材料的剩余性能、地理信息科学数据库（GIS）和可持续性网络分析。该研究的更广泛影响可分为三类：（1）科学性-本研究中创建的方法可广泛适用于除风能行业外的其他大型制造业。它还将向决策者和社区领导人提供最佳做法方面的指导，以积极影响行业和当地社区，并避免摩擦。此外，这项研究可能有助于社会生命周期评估的新兴领域。(2)社会-这项研究最重要的社会影响是使政策和社区利益攸关方能够向公众提供信息和教育，提高风能的可接受性的方法。此外，风力涡轮机叶片的再利用将对空气质量和水质产生积极影响，并减少主要的不可生物降解的废物流。(3)教育和培训-本研究机构的独特组合将使所有教职员工和学生研究人员接触文化，种族和经济多样性。由于大多数风力发电场位于农村地区，因此很可能大部分设想用于再利用风力叶片的重新制造活动将发生在农村地区。农村地区的失业率往往高于平均水平，因此这项研究可能会对某些地区的当地经济和创造就业机会产生影响。该奖项由CBET/ENG环境可持续性计划和NSF国际科学与工程办公室共同资助。

The proposal for this research project was submitted under the US-Ireland tripartite program which supports collaborative research between researchers in the United States, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland. The objective of this research project is to establish a methodology to compare sustainable end-of-life reuse and recycling strategies for wind turbine blades made of composite materials. The methodology is being developed using a Geographic Information Science (GIS) platform coupled with environmental, economic and social life-cycle assessments. The very rapid growth in wind energy technology in the last 15 years has led to a commensurate rapid growth in the amount of non-biodegradable, thermosetting fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials used in wind turbine blades. The hypothesis behind this research project is that reuse and recycling strategies can be found that will prevent environmentally and socially unpalatable and unsustainable landfilling and incineration disposal methods. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are being used as a test-bed for this research. Numerical models of turbine blades from SANDIA National Labs are being used, and physical tests are being conducted on a donated turbine blade. A team of researchers from the City College of New York, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University College Cork, Ireland and Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland in disciplines of engineering, architecture, geography, sociology, and political science are conducting the research project. The research is being conducted in four parts with the following intellectual foci: (1) Wind Energy - social, environmental and economic sustainability of reuse and recycling and disposal options for decommissioned wind turbine blades. (2) Design for the Built Environment - design of architectural and engineering structures and products from decommissioned wind turbine blades in the highly-constrained contexts of the blade properties and the potential reuse sites. (3) Structural Mechanics - understanding the residual properties of wind blade composite materials at the end of their service lives, the appropriate load cases for the reused structures or products and their structural design, and, (4) Geographic Information Science (GIS) - an open GIS for wind blade reuse and recycling, containing embedded reuse design options and their environmental, economic and social impacts, for subsequent network analysis. Advances are anticipated in many fields of science including social, environmental and economic modeling of reuse and recycling, life-cycle assessments, conceptual design, parametric modeling, design of fiber reinforced polymer composite structures, residual properties of composite materials, databases for Geographic Information Science (GIS), and network analysis for sustainability. The broader impacts of the research can be divided into three categories: (1) Scientific - the methodology created in this research could be broadly applicable to other large manufacturing industries in addition to the wind energy industry. It will also provide guidance to policy-makers and community leaders on best-practices to positively impact both the industry and local communities and to avoid friction. Additionally, this research is may contribute to the emerging field of social life-cycle assessment. (2) Societal - the most important societal impact of this research is intended to be methodology that will enable policy and community stakeholders to inform and educate the public and improve the acceptability of wind energy. In addition, reuse of wind turbine blades will have positive impacts on air quality and water quality and decrease a major non-biodegradable waste stream. (3) Education and Training - the unique combination of institutions in this research will expose all faculty, staff and student researchers to cultural, ethnic and economic diversity. Since most wind farms are situated in rural areas, it is likely that much of the re-fabricating activities envisioned for reusing wind blades will occur in rural areas. Rural areas tend to suffer from higher than average unemployment and as such this research could have an impact on the local economy and job creation in some regions. This award is co-funded by the CBET/ENG Environmental Sustainability program and the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering.