Covestro receives DNV GL certification for polyurethane infusion resin

 

DNV GL – an abbreviation of the companies Det Norske Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd, which merged in 2013 – is an international industry standard for the safety, reliability and performance of wind turbines. The Covestro system is reportedly the world's first polyurethane resin to receive this certification.

 

“This brings us a big step closer to our goal of increasing the efficiency of wind power generation,” said Kim Klausen, global head of Covestro's wind energy program. The resin was developed in a close cooperation between the Covestro Wind Competence Center in Denmark and the Polyurethane Research Center in Leverkusen. Covestro says that a standout feature is its major influence on stability and durability, the two critical properties of rotor blades. “After epoxy resins mainly were used in the industry in the past, the time has come to establish the high performance and cost advantages of polyurethane in wind power generation,” Klausen said.

 

Covestro successfully tested the polyurethane resin on an industrial scale together with SAERTEX (Saerbeck, Germany and Huntersville, N.C.), a manufacturer of glass fiber and carbon fiber fabrics, and HÜBERS, a specialist in process engineering. A prototype of a 45-meter-long spar cap recently was fabricated at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Stade. The spar cap is a key component of the rotor structure that has to bear the full force of the wind.