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Innovative Materials Improve Wind Turbine Blades and Seals
Zeon Chemicals supplies North American manufacturers
Louisville, KY, USA – (May 14, 2010) – Wind turbine manufacturers in North America can increase the quality and durability of their parts with two advanced materials now available from Zeon Chemicals. Both the Telene® DCPD system and Hydrin® ECO have proven track records in wind turbine use throughout Europe.
Creating Better Blades with Telene
Used to make blades, enclosures, and spinners of compact-style wind turbines,Telene DCPD thermoset polymers molded with the Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) process are now available in the US and Canada. Now North American manufacturers can achieve design freedom using the same process that has helped several European companies win design awards.
“Telene is our material of choice due to its excellent strength, resilience and durability,” says Juhani Pylkkänen, Professor of Production Technology at the University of Oulu who participated in research and development for a leading manufacturer of wind turbines. “Compared with alternative materials, Telene has a better quality surface, retains its shape well and lends itself to molding into integrated structural parts. It also withstands exposure in difficult weather conditions better than other plastic materials.”
Creating Better Seals with Hydrin
As the offshore wind industry begins to emerge in North America, manufacturers will need to develop more resilient parts that can withstand saltwater and high shaft speeds. Using Hydrin epichlorohydrin elastomers allows them to create seals for securing turbine blades that last twice as long as seals made of nitrile rubber.
Longer-lasting seals are vital to offshore wind farms, where the cost and effort to replace components is extremely high. European manufacturers of turbine parts are currently using Hydrin to double the life expectancy of their seals.
“Imagine the difficulty of replacing the seals on hundreds of turbines that are situated ten kilometers offshore; By using Hydrin rather than an NBR, we are able to double the life expectancy and increase the performance of the turbines’ seals,” says Thomas Haas, managing director of Otto Haas Nuremberg. “This can play an important role in controlling the high maintenance costs of offshore wind farms.”
Long used in the automotive industry, Hydrin elastomers offer many of the mechanical properties of natural rubbers, and many of the same desirable characteristics of nitrile, polychloroprene and polyacrylic rubber. With superior resistance to both heat and low temperatures, Hydrin ECOs provide an overall balance of advantages not found in other oil-resistant materials.
Replacing NBRs with Hydrin doesn’t require equipment retooling, and will allow OEMs to install superior parts for turbines that require less maintenance.
Learn more about improving wind turbines
To learn more about Telene, please contact Brian Stubbs at 502.435.3347 or stubbs@zeonchemicals.com. You may also visit www.TeleneDCPD.com.
For more details about Hydrin, please contact Clark Cable at 502.775.7785 or cable@zeonchemicals.com. For more information about Zeon Chemicals L.P., visit www.zeonchemicals.com/hydrin.
About Zeon Chemicals L.P.
Zeon Chemicals L.P. is a wholly owned subsidiary of ZEON Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, a world leader in specialty elastomers, polymers and specialty chemicals. ZEON Corporation is one of the top producers of polymers in the world with plants in Asia, North America and Europe, and Research and Development laboratories in Kawasaki (Japan), Louisville (KY, USA) and Barry (UK).
ZEON Corporation, with combined sales of over US 2.8 billion, utilizes its expertise and basic position in C4 and C5 chemistry to offer a wide range of products. The company employs approximately 3,200 people worldwide.
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